Scorching the World

1/31 Last week, all the Napa ward boundaries were changed and we got put in Napa 1st ward. At first we were a little sad because we had developed wonderful friendships in Napa 2nd and hated to leave them, but today was the first Sunday with our new ward family and we were sure greeted warmly. There were about 40 families that were switched to 1st ward, so we came with friends, which helped.  All the meetings were wonderful. After church they had a 'linger-longer' and served a great little lunch and people really did linger and chat. It was fun and we're excited to get to know the people in our new ward. Today is also our actual 47th wedding anniversary. Unbelievable to have been married longer than I think I've been alive, but I guess it's true. Our love has grown so much it's surprising. We thought we were so in love when we met, dated 2 weeks, were engaged a month and a half and got married, but that love was a tiny drop, barely enough to act on. Sure th...

1/30 Tom had a surprise planned for me today. I like surprises, but not a lot. But he was super excited about it and kept trying to get me excited, too. I just didn't know how to get excited about something when I didn't know what it was. We went out to breakfast instead of having the complimentary breakfast in the hotel, then we took off for the surprise. He drove and drove and drove. It seemed like a really long time to me, so I read my book, trying not to be anxious about the surprise. Finally we arrived and we went to the door and I waited to see who was going to answer it. To my utter shock and surprise and glee, it was Ralph Smith!  His daughter, Renee, was there also, along with her husband Ricky.  We had a great visit with them. He's an amazing man. He's 86 years old and says he's ready to die any time because he sees death as moving on and he's tired of waiting for the next phase. But he is totally alert and still very active. He ma...

Today we had the hotel breakfast and in late afternoon left to go tour the capitol building. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL! We took a tour and learned lots of amazing things like that it was built in the 1800s and when it needed renovation, they almost tore it all the way down to build a new building! It was only saved with 2 votes! Also, that Arnold Schwarzenegger is only 5’9”! I never dreamed he was so short! The building has beautiful carved wood everywhere, beautiful painting and designs on the ceilings. I took lots of pictures, but none of them really do it justice. This is the dome, looking up from the bottom floor.  It was so beautiful! We spent quite a few hours there. We could have spent more time, but we knew there were other things we wanted to do today so we left. We drove by the governor's mansion, then we went to  Old Sacramento. There are so many fun shops to look at, and so many fun places...

1/28/16            Today was the first day of our anniversary weekend. Tom is technically working, so we left early so he could make a couple of stops on the way to the temple. They put us a little behind, so we got lunch before we went to the temple. The Sacramento temple is beautiful! The rooms are just breathtaking! It was wonderful being there. I’m so grateful for a husband that is worthy, willing, and spiritually minded to take me to the temple. What a great way to start our anniversary weekend! After that we just checked into the hotel in Sacramento and chilled. Saweeeet~!

1/27       I had ‘lunch with the ladies’ scheduled at 11:30, so I left at 10:45. It’s really fun to get together with the sisters from the ward I’m not in anymore. We talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed. After, I ran a couple of errands then I left for home. I was halfway home when I realized I forgot to get gas in the van!. It was on empty most of the way home! That's scary because we have to hope there's enough gas to get all the way back to town tomorrow! When he finished work, Tom went by the detail shop to check the progress on my car. The plan was that if it was done, he was going to come up to the house and pick me up and then we would go back to Napa to pick up my Miata. Well, it wasn’t done, and he could see they had taken everything out of the car, down to the frame.   The seats, the carpeting, the vents – everything was out. They said they had to take out the carpets to shoot the mold killer through t...

Tom is wonderful. He is so thoughtful and always tries to do everything he can to make my life better.  My thought when I found mold in my car was that I would need to spend the day scrubbing out the seats, floors, steering wheel, doors, seat belts, and convertible top, while knowing all the time that some of my love for my Miata was diminished. How can I love a car that has live mildew spores hiding in it? It made me sad to think about my poor little baby that fell victim to green parasite growth. Tom’s first response was to find an auto detailer. Hooray! That never would have occurred to me, but it sure made me happy to hear him on the phone. They quoted him a price but when we took it there, the price doubled. They said they would have to treat the vents, too, and make sure all the mold was dead or else it would come back. It's going to be so expensive that it actually made both of us groan, but who wants to take a chance with mold coming back??? We left my sad ...