It's been a while since, so I thought I would post an update. I have been really busy with school this semester (17 credits!), but when I'm not doing homework I am:
Hi All,
Just a quick post and few pics to let you know that we've moved......again :) This time we stayed in the same state, same city, same ward and actually on the same street!!! So we're getting better! We've moved in with Bryce's parents who also have a house in our same neighborhood. Business had been pretty slow for a while and we decided it would be better to consolidate a little. It's going great actually--we still have plenty of room and they are out and about a lot so I don't have to feel at all like we're in each other's way or space, plus we're going to be able to save a lot of money. Bryce also started a new job with AT&T that he's enjoying (we're also enjoying the deals he can get) so if any of you are with AT&T let him know if you need anything :) The girls are as great as ever! Jenna is 9 months old now and they both can't get enough of each other. We're so excited to head down for Joel & Sarah's wedding and see all of you Utahns! Love to you all.
Well, you have to know that your mother just had a 'mega tantrum'. I had spent over thirty minutes writing a wonderfully witty and insightful article, then pushed the wrong button and it disappeared. It is a good thing none of you were here.
So, anyway I will attempt to recreate it and try again [that is why this is titled part 2. Part 1 is lost forever somewhere out in blogger space.]
I had mentioned that there is just not much activity on the ever exciting HOUSE OF HARRIS blog site. In fact, when we do have a posting there are not even many comments which leads me to believe that no one out there is even reading them.
Hence, I am going to bore you all into doing better. I had the inspiration to each week take a day and tell what we do on that day. When you sons were on your missions I always wished that you would tell me what you do during the day. Now, you probably have never wished your parents would do that, but you are going to have to suffer through it anyway.
For my first day I am going to pick Monday. Now, to you ex-missionaries you might call this our P-day, and it is because by the time the day is over we are 'pooped'. We are able to sleep in a little longer on this day but seeing our age it doesn't happen anyway. So up, dressed, we grab a plastic grocery sack and out we go for our weekly 'trash pick up'. President and Sister Babb, our first counselor and his wife take the outside streets surrounding the temple grounds and we do the inside grounds. Now, you would think that it being the temple and dedicated grounds there just would not be any trash at all. WRONG!. The sad fact is that there is a lot of trash on the grounds. When asked why people just drop their things where they stand the answer came back, well it is just a tradition!!! Interestingly enough a lot of it is tucked away in bushes and shrubs, [I think they do try to hide it] so we do a lot of bending and stretching [good exercise for us]. This usually takes about 45-60 minutes. You would be shocked, surprised, amazed and all the other adjectives you can come up with when you hear what we do find on the grounds; anything from dead rats [which Dad picks us] to beer bottles [left over from bus drivers who are hired to drive youth groups here for baptisms]. Most of it though is wrappers from crackers, gum, candy, etc. Dad is thinking of keeping the next bags we pick up and taking them to our next PPI with the Area President. Maybe he can talk to the Stake Presidents about this. It is very sad.
We then come in, shower, have a little breakfast and usually will do our grocery shopping. The grocery stores here are very nice and modern and usually will have just about anything that the US stores will have, just not maybe at the time you want it. We do have to wait for the US things to arrive via air I suppose or maybe ship. But we certainly do not suffer from want of anything to eat. The time it takes to shop is not very long but the time it takes to clorox wash all the fresh fruits and veggies takes over an hour sometimes.
We are then ready to do our scripture and other reading. Then of course there is the nap time which is a must on the day the temple is closed.
I will usually use this day to bake as I love to give out cookies and banana bread to the gardners, office staff, etc. This is a fun thing for me to do.
From 7-8:30 we have our Family Home Evening here in the Casa de Huespedes [Guest House. There is a room just for meetings which we all gather in]. Once a month or so I will show a 'popcorn and movie' night here in our apartment which the seniors all seem to enjoy.
Well, loved ones there you are. I know this should generate some really thought-provoking comments and I welcome them all.
Remember next week, I will tackle the exciting Tuesday, so stay tuned for more in the life of...!
Yes, it's true. Recent research suggests we are not the vicious killers that historians have painted us as. For those of you muttering, "Oh, boy, there he goes again," do not delete this. Here's some background (taken from a Scottish newspaper article):
"For almost 317 years the entire Clan Campbell has borne the stigma not only of massacre but of the worst possible breach of the Highland code of hospitality. Early in the morning of 13th February in 1692, thirty eight members of the MacDonad clan were murdered without warning, as they slept, by Campbells lodging in their homes in the Glen; and forty more perished in blizzard conditions when they fled for their lives.
The signal for their murder was triggered by their Chief’s tardiness in taking the oath of allegiance to the then English King, William of Orange. The revulsion of other Highlanders - and of history - for this action leaves the name Campbell, even today, often accompanied by an inward shudder in the uttering. But a research publication, Glencoe: The Infamous Massacre 1692, written by John Sadler, a historian from Newcastle University, claims to present a different version of these events - and one relieving the pressure of this dark legacy on the Campbell name."
Well, I feel better already.
The new book admits that Campbells did the killing, but not as Clan members, but rather as soldiers of the English King. OK, maybe a technicality, but there's more. It appears the Campbells first warned the McDonalds. Not sure how that worked: "Angus, could you pass the mutton? Thanks. And by the by, we'll be getting up in the wee hours of the morning, and if you're still here, and happen to be sleeping, we supposed to kill you."
For those of you who want to know more (yes, Mike and Lee, you can read more), I'll attach a link. Personally, I feel somewhat vindicated, and I suspect the feeling is shared by Mom, Seth, Brigham and Jake. Did I miss anyone?
http://forargyll.com/2009/02/has-the-campbells-role-in-the-glencoe-massacre-been-painted-blacker-than-it-was/
