On Sunday 5 October we enjoyed the wonderful breakfast that Eileen prepared. We had delicious homemade waffles on our Waring waffle maker and cooked the ground beef sausage, which I cut into eight slices, that came from the half steer of Eileen's brother Russ. The sausage slices fried in the cast iron fry pan came to the table like delicious burgers and were yummy!
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| Waring waffle maker |
I hooked up my laptop to our 42-inch TV as we watched the last part of President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's concluding remarks from the previous week's General Women's meeting on BYU-TV.
Before conference began Eileen with help from Lynda made an awesome apple pie!
Then at 11:30 we watched "Music and the Spoken Word" which was followed by the noon session of General Conference. It was conducted by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
The first speaker was President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency. "We need revelation from God. And we need not just one revelation in a time of stress but we need a constantly renewed stream. We need not just one flash of light and comfort, but we need the continuing blessing of communication with God," President Eyring said.
He said, "President Boyd K. Packer described that identifying mark of the true Church this way: 'Revelation continues in the Church: the prophet receiving it for the Church; the president for his stake, his mission, or his quorum; the bishop for his ward; the father for his family; the individual for himself.'
"That wonderful process of revelation begins, ends and continues as we receive personal revelation."
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| President Henry B. Eyring |
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles then spoke. Sustaining the prophet is a sacred privilege, he taught. “How do we really sustain a prophet?” he asked. “Often we sing, ‘We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,’” he said. “Do you and I really understand what that means? Imagine the privilege the Lord has given us of sustaining His prophet, whose counsel will be untainted, unvarnished, unmotivated by any personal aspiration and utterly true!”
But sustaining the prophet is more than just raising one’s hand — it means standing behind the prophet, praying for him, defending his good name and striving to carry out the instructions he gives as directed by the Lord.
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| Elder Russell M. Nelson |
He was followed by Sister Carole F. McConkie, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency. “To be in harmony with heaven’s divine purposes, we sustain the prophet and choose to live according to his words,” said Sister McConkie.
“We also sustain President Monson’s counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers and revelators,” she added. “They have the right, power and authority to declare the mind and will of the Lord subject to the President of the Church. They speak in the name of Christ. They prophesy in the name of Christ. They do all things in the name of the Lord. In their words we feel the Savior’s love.”
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| Sister Carole F. McConkie |
After the hymn "Come, Ye Children of the Lord," we heard from Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. "I testify that when we do what is necessary to know [God and Jesus Christ] and Their love for one another, we will obtain 'the greatest of all the gifts of God'—even eternal life," said Elder Hales.
Speaking about his personal journey in the gospel, Elder Hales said, "My own testimony grew as I learned about Heavenly Father and the Savior from the teaching and testimony of my parents, teachers, the scriptures which I read diligently and especially the Holy Ghost. As I exercised faith and obeyed the commandments, the Holy Ghost testified that what I was learning was true. This is how I came to know for myself."
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| Elder Robert D. Hales |
Elder James J. Hamula of the Seventy spoke. "The ordinance of the sacrament has been called 'one of the most holy and sacred ordinances in the Church,'" he said. "It needs to become more holy and sacred to each of us. Jesus Christ Himself instituted the ordinance to remind us what He did to redeem us, and to teach us how we may avail ourselves of His redemption and thereby live with God again."
By partaking of the bread and water, Church members are reminded of "Christ's redemption of us from death and sin," said Elder Hamula.
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| Elder James J. Hamula |
President Thomas S. Monson was the concluding speaker at this session. Heavenly Father has provided a path that, if followed, will guide all His children safely home, he declared.
The scriptures and counsel of God's prophets are among the guides back to Heavenly Father, he said, and then added, "Of paramount importance, we have been provided with a perfect example to follow — even the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ — and we have been instructed to follow that example. ... As we look to Jesus as our Exemplar and as we follow in His footsteps, we can return safely to our Heavenly Father to live with Him forever."
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| President Thomas S. Monson |
Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Primary general president, gave the benediction.
Eileen and Lynda cooked Sunday dinner between sessions. We had pork tenderloin, red potatoes, artisan bread from Ingles, and tossed salad that I made. A delicious dinner!
The afternoon session began with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Likening life to an adventure down a river on a raft, Elder Ballard said individuals must follow three rules: stay in the boat, always wear a life jacket and hold on as they experience their mortal sojourn.
But just as an experienced guide has rules and instructions to ensure safe travel of passengers through rapids, so does the Lord in helping individuals return to live with their Heavenly Father.
Drawing from the words of President Brigham Young who used the term “the Old Ship Zion” as a metaphor for the Church, Elder Ballard said that "[we must] stick to the old ship, and she will carry us safely into the harbor.”
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| Elder M. Russell Ballard |
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke next. “Despite all of the negative challenges we have in life, we must take time to actively exercise our faith,” he said. “Such exercise invites the positive, faith-filled power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives.”
In the premortal world all were taught that the purpose in coming to earth is to be tested, tried and stretched while facing evils of the adversary.
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| Elder Richard G. Scott |
Elder Carlos A. Godoy spoke in Portuguese and we heard the translator. Years ago, he was visited by an old friend who asked if the life Elder Godoy was living would fulfill the blessings promised to him in his patriarchal blessing.
“I had never thought about my patriarchal blessing in this way,” Elder Godoy shared. “I read it from time to time but never with the intent of looking toward the blessings promised in the future and evaluating how I was living in the present.”
Elder Godoy decided changes in his life needed to be made. “It was not a decision between what was right and wrong but between what was good and what was better,” he said.
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| Elder Carlos A. Godoy |
After the hymn "Count Your Blessings," we heard from Elder Allan F. Packer of the Seventy. “Qualifying for exaltation is like preparing to enter another country,” he said. "We must each obtain our own spiritual passport. We do not set the requirements but, individually, we must meet all of the requirements.”
Elder Packer said that during this conference the Saints have been taught about changes that will help them be better prepared.
“There has been a renewed emphasis on family history and temple work by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,” he said. “Your response to this emphasis will increase your individual and family joy and happiness.”
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| Elder Allan F. Packer |
Elder Hugo E. Martinez of the Seventy spoke in Spanish and we heard the translator. The Savior focuses on the individual and family, he said. "His love and tender attention to the individual have taught me that He recognizes the great worth of each of Heavenly Father's children and that is essential for us to ensure that each individual is ministered to and strengthened by the gospel of Jesus Christ."
The love of Jesus Christ must be our guide if we are to become aware of the needs of those we can help in some way, said Elder Martinez. "The teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ show us the way. And that is how our personal ministry begins: discovering needs, then tending to them."
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| Elder Hugo E. Martinez |
Elder Larry S. Kacher of the Seventy spoke next. The decisions one makes in this life greatly affect the course of one's eternal life, he said.
Illustrating his point with a personal story, Elder Kacher said he went swimming in the Indian Ocean with his wife and got trapped in a riptide. "I felt helpless," he said. "Forces beyond my control were pulling me further out to sea. … I thought there was a high likelihood I would not survive and that I, because of my decision, would also cause my wife's death."
There are many currents in this earthly life — some safe and others not, said Elder Kacher. "President Spencer W. Kimball taught that there are powerful forces in our lives much like the unseen currents of the ocean. These forces are real. We should never ignore them."
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| Elder Larry S. Kacher |
Then we heard from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Bednar directed his remarks to individuals who are not members of the Church who might ask, “Why are Latter-day Saints so eager to tell me about what they believe and to invite me to learn about their Church?”
“Devoted disciples of Jesus Christ always have been and always will be valiant missionaries,” he explained. “A missionary is a follower of Christ who testifies of Him as the Redeemer and proclaims the truths of His gospel.”
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| Elder David A. Bednar |
President Thomas S. Monson was the concluding speaker of the conference. He asked the 15 million Church members across the globe to resolve in their hearts to be a little better than they have been in the past.
“We have experienced two glorious days of inspired messages,” said President Monson. “Our hearts have been touched and our faith strengthened as we have partaken of the spirit which has been present during these conference sessions. As we conclude, we thank our Heavenly Father for many His blessings to us.”
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| President Thomas S. Monson |
After conference we played a game of Mexican Train. Eileen won with Lynda well behind in second place and Allen well behind in third with me way behind in fourth.
We ate the wonderful apple pie that Eileen made and it was delicious!! (Actually we ate half.)
I e-mailed the women at FamilySearch that Eileen and I will be involved with as Church Service missionaries to let them know we had been set apart.
I was delighted that the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Detroit Tigers, 2-1, to sweep their best-of-five series in three games, beating the three top notch Tigers' pitchers who had won the Cy Young Award the last three years. And then the Kansas City Royals swept the Los Angeles Angels in three games, winning 8-3.
On Monday 6 October we enjoyed scrambled eggs for breakfast and went by the food pantry to show it to Allen and Lynda. We also dropped off the four flats of cans of garbanzo beans we got last Wednesday from Barbara Rittenberry and lots of plastic bags that we had accumulated. Allen and Lynda met Sylvia, Judy, Terry, and Wayne.
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| Eileen, Lynda, and Allen at the food pantry |
Then we went by the dump and we were fortunate as we had two bags of recyclables and the dumpsters were pretty full, but the "full" sign had not been put out yet. We also had two bags of trash.
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| Our Avalon with empty dumpsters |
We headed west through Chatsworth and Dalton. We stopped at Jim's Slack Shack in Dalton for Allen to get some jeans. Our odometer showed 84248.
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| Jim's Slack Shack |
We continued on to Joseph Standing Memorial Park in Varnell. This is maintained by our Church in memory of the missionary who, along with his companion, was ambushed on 21 July 1879. Elder Standing was killed at age 24. His companion Elder Rudger Clawson escaped harm and later in life became the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
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| Joseph Standing Monument |
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| Joseph Standing Plaque |
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| Lynda and Allen by the monument |
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| Near the monument |
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| Myself holding the Times-Courier with Allen |
From there we took I-75, I-24, and I-59, which took us into Tennessee and back to Georgia, to get to Cloudland Canyon State Park near Trenton. It is on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. The scenic views are very impressive.
We had a wonderful supper of stuffed cabbage that Eileen had cooking all day in her crockpot. We polished off most of her apple pie with vanilla ice cream and Cool Whip from Ingles.
We played a game of Mexican Train. Eileen won with Allen close behind in second and Lynda back aways in third. We were all very close until the last hand which put me way behind in fourth.
I got replies from the three women at FamilySearch and Eileen and I will be involved most directly with Jane Colmenares on the Wiki.
I was delighted that the Washington Nationals defeated the San Francisco, 4-1, to stay alive in their best-of-five series.
On Tuesday 7 October we enjoyed more delicious homemade waffles and Allen and I finished the last two sausage "burgers." It was rainy so we just hung out at home in the morning. Lynda and Eileen both did wash.
We watched "Cook's Country" and "America's Test Kitchen" recorded last Saturday.
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| "Cook's Country" and "America's Test Kitchen" cast |
Eileen made her father's wonderful tomato sauce to have with Italian sausage and buns on Thursday.
After the wash was done we drove south to Jasper to look for Dragon memorabilia. That's the local high school mascot and apparently also where the White's live in California. But no luck. Our car's odometer registered 84448 miles. We were glad we didn't miss that one.
We visited the Quilt Shop on Main. Then we had dinner at Ably Asian Cuisine in Jasper. Very good!
Back at home most of us napped. Then we played a game of Mexican Train. Ben won as Eileen passed him on the last hand! Lynda was third and Allen last. It was a close game as all of us were in the 200's.
Then we watched "Finding Your Roots" which I had recorded while we played.
We hit the hay and as part of our reading I finished the September Ensign.
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| September Ensign |
I especially liked "Men and Women and Priesthood Power" by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "The Church in Korea - Gospel Light Shines Through Hardship," "The Work of Salvation Then and Now" by Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy, "Uncommon Boys" by Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1886-1983), and many other articles.
On Wednesday 8 October we had French toast for breakfast and headed east to Gainesville. We made a pit stop next door to Big D's BBQ.
We made a brief stop in Dawsonville and then found the Gainesville Midland Locomotive #209, which is a 2-10-0 steam engine and has been restored. The locomotive was outfitted with a new boiler, asbestos removed, and missing parts replaced, thanks to a small contingent of dedicated volunteers. The 2-10-0 steam engine rests comfortably near the intersection of West Academy St. and Jesse Jewell Pkwy with its compliment of baggage cars and a Seaboard Airline Railroad caboose.
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| Eileen and Engine #209 |
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| Allen and Lynda and Engine #209 |
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| Allen and Lynda and Engine #209 |
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| Engine #209 |
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| Ben and the Seaboard Airline Railroad Caboose |
Near the locomotive workmen were putting some statues in place.
Gainesville promotes itself as "Poultry Capital of the World" and erected a big pillar with a life-size chicken on top. Across the street from the locomotive was the chicken statue atop an obelisk.
We had a very nice visit to the Northeast Georgia History Center associated with Bernau University. It was very enjoyable with excellent displays. The volunteers who shared things with us and answered any questions were Joe and Betty White. All of the pictures will be in a separate blog entry.
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| Lynda, Eileen, and Allen signing in |
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| Lynda and Allen |
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| Lynda and Jeep |
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| Allen and Joe White |
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| Betty and Lynda White |
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| Eileen and the Mark Trail Exhibit |
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| Lynda and the Mark Trail Exhibit |
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| Lynda and Jeep |
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| Lynda on front porch of 18th century cabin of Cherokee Indian Chief White Path |
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| Allen in cabin |
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| Eileen in cabin |
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| Allen in cabin |
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| Allen and Eileen on back porch of cabin |
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| Ben and simulated 1936 Gainesville tornado |
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| Allen and Jeep |
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| Allen and Ben in blacksmith shop |
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| Allen on front porch |
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| Looking at the museum from the cabin |
Nearby was a monument to George Washington, Father of Our Country.
From there we found the Rabbittown statue in the northeastern corner of Gainesville. That part of Gainesville used to be a hamlet named Rabbittown. It got the name because its farms raised the rabbits that the people in Gainesville ate for dinner. When Gainesville eventually absorbed it, Rabbittown gradually disappeared from Georgia's maps and became a dim memory. Then Gainesville began promoting itself as "Poultry Capital of the World." The elevation of the chicken rubbed some folks in the former Rabbittown the wrong way, and in 1993 they erected their own big pillar, topped with a much-larger-than-life-size rabbit. "Rabbittown, GA," reads a plaque on its base, from a hamlet that was no longer hiding its past. The rabbit has the soft lines and awkward alert pose of a chocolate Easter bunny, and makes a far more satisfying monument than the Gainesville chicken.
Then it was on to the "Oversized Rocking Chair in a Field" roughly midway between Clermont and Lula. It needs a paint job.
From there we drove toward Helen, stopping at the Old Sautee Store for, primarily, farmer's cheese. Then we went to the Nora Mill and Granary for some Pioneer's Porridge.
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| Eileen, Lynda, and Allen |
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| Lynda and Eileen trying some farmer's cheese |
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| Buckets of candies |
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| Lynda buying her goodies |
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| Allen relaxing out front |
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| Nora Mill and Granary |
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| Eileen tasting the porridge |
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| Millstones |
In Helen we got some yummy bakery items at Hofer's Bakery. I told the gal behind the counter about two spelling mistakes on labels where raisin was spelled "rasin." She corrected them and gave me a glazed donut. I also showed her that management was spelled "management."
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| Hofer's approached from the parking lot |
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| Side view of Hofer's |
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| Lynda at the bakery counter |
Then it was on to the Old Bavaria Inn for a delicious supper. I had a sausage (wurst) platter with four different sausages, German potato salad, sauerkraut, and red cabbage.
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| Lynda, Allen, and Eileen in the alley |
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| Upstairs in the inn |
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| Upstairs in the inn |
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| Upstairs in the inn |
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| Menu |
After that we walked around Helen for a while and headed home via Dahlonega, arriving about 7:15 pm. Our odometer reached 84648.
We relaxed for a little while and then we played a game of Mexican Train. Allen won just barely ahead of Ben and Lynda was third and Eileen last.
On Thursday 9 October we visited Hillcrest Orchards and then got the newspaper at R&A Orchards. In Ellijay we gassed up at $2.889! Eileen ran into the Blue Ridge Olive Oil Company. We visited the Rusty Buffalo store full of Himalayan salt crystals (Eileen and Lynda both bought little shakers of Himalayan salt) and the antique store 28 Main. At the latter I bought two crystal candlestick holders for Eileen when I heard her say to Lynda how much she has always wanted them! Allen bought Lynda a Hummel.
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| My shrimp and grits! |
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| Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Entrance to Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| Inside Burnt Mountain Trading Company |
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| We have one of these from Germany. |
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| The Outback Antiques |
We shopped at Walmart and Ingles, getting three kinds of hoagie buns for our Italian sausage supper, i.e.,
Portuguese rolls, P.M.C. Rolls, and wheat padinha rolls.
Supper was delicious as we had Italian sausage with the tomato sauce of Eileen's dad's recipe. We also had leftover stuffed cabbage, pork tenderloin, and red potatoes. We enjoyed our desserts from Hofer's Bakery.
We played a game of Mexican Train. Ben won, winning six hands along the way. Allen was second, Lynda was third, and Eileen last.
On Friday 10 October we had some leftovers and Eileen made six-week muffins as she did nearly every morning. We packed the car and the last time Allen and Lynda opened the trunk, they discovered that we were going to stay overnight at the Sleep Inn, too!
We headed south and reached the Marietta Museum of History a little after noon. We enjoyed the Marietta Welcome Center followed by the museum.
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| Sister city Linz am Rhein in Germany |
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| Cotton in the window of the welcome center |
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| Lynda in the welcome center |
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| Allen in the welcome center |
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| The welcome center |
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| Lynda and sign |
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| Marietta Museum of History - Kennesaw House |
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| Second floor of the museum |
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| Eileen in part of the Great Locomotive Chase display |
All of the pictures from the Marietta Museum of History will be in its own blog entry.
Then we drove to the nearby Ye Olde Christmas and Candy Shoppe where Eileen and Lynda went while Allen and I visited Glover Park across the street. Among the pictures that I took was one of the statue of Alexander Stephens Clay. Eileen bought me a box of sugar-free raspberry chocolates.
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| Eileen and Lynda at the Ye Olde Christmas and Candy Shoppe |
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| In Glover Park |
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| In Glover Park |
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| Fountain in Glover Park |
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| Bell in Glover Park |
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| In Glover Park |
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| Cat in the Hat in Glover Park |
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| Bandstand in Glover Park |
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| Glover Park |
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| Statue of Alexander Stephens Clay |
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| In Glover Park |
From there we drove to the Marietta d'Lites Emporium where Allen, Lynda, and Eileen got vanilla and chocolate while I got turtle brownie and dark chocolate soft serve ice cream.
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| Lynda, Allen, and Eileen in the Marietta d'Lites Emporium |
We went by the Atlanta Temple for Allen and Lynda to see it.
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| Atlanta Temple |
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| Atlanta Temple |
Then on to the Sleep Inn. The traffic on I-75 south was bumper-to-bumper, even the HOV lane! I-85 was better. We got there about 5 pm. I remembered Benita at the front desk and I was familiar to her as we had stayed there in April when we flew to Arizona.
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| Sleep Inn |
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| Front desk |
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| Spacious lobby with sitting area |
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| King size bed |
We enjoyed supper at Ruby Tuesday which Allen and Lynda don't have near them at home.
We played a game of Mexican Train in the hotel breakfast area. Lynda won with Allen second, Ben third, and Eileen last. From 2-10 October Eileen won three games and the other three of us won two games apiece.
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| Lynda, Allen, and Eileen as we played Mexican Train |
On Saturday 11 October we were up at 5:30 am so that we could have breakfast together with the White's before they departed on the shuttle at 7 for the airport. We returned to our room and relaxed for a few hours before we checked out. Eileen napped and I worked on my blog for the week of 28 September as well as pictures of the White's visit. Eileen teased me about how I was talking to myself while working on my laptop.
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| Halloween decorations at front desk |
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| Allen, Lynda, and Eileen waiting for the shuttle |
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| Halloween decorations at front desk |
I was pleased to see that the Kansas City Royals won yet another extra inning game, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6 in 10 innings last night after blowing a 5-1 lead. But I expect the Orioles to be hard to beat!
We checked out at 11 am. We drove to the Atlanta Temple where I checked on our family file cards. The branch youth did 27 baptisms and confirmations, 11 male and 16 female, on 27 September. One male endowment was done during stake temple week on 26 September. 10 female initiatories were done on 7 October and two of those had their endowments done yesterday!
From there we drove to Moe's Southwest Grill. I had never been there before but Eileen had been in Florida with Sue. So I followed Eileen's lead as we got identical "Homewrecker" burritos. Our odometer hit the palindrome 84848.
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| Outside Moe's Southwest Grill |
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| Inside Moe's Southwest Grill |
We drove to d'Lites Emporium, arriving a little before they opened at 1:30 pm. It was upsetting! They didn't have their flavors for Saturday ready until 2:30 and the radio was blaring so loud that I had to go outside! Eileen texted me that they turned down the radio, gave us two coupons for free small ice creams, and the last two flavors were ready. Eileen had the S'Mores and Dulce De Leche. I had a swirl of S'Mores and Chocolate Salted Caramel Pretzel.
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| Marietta d'Lites Emporium |
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| Marietta d'Lites Emporium |
We got home safe and sound though I was a bit tired. Eileen broke out her trail mix and that helped.
We watched the Kansas City Royals - Baltimore Orioles game and ate leftovers from the White's boxes from Ably Asian Cuisine and Old Bavaria Inn. The Royals won, 6-4, with two runs in the top of the 9th inning.
I have a group in our branch which cleans the church building about once every eight weeks. I called each of them this evening and all said they could be at the building at noon on Friday. If they all make it, it will be the largest turnout for my group since we've started doing it.
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