Driving Missionaries

When we were in West Virginia, part of our task was to monitor the driving safety of the young missionaries. Missionaries who proved to be poor drivers were no longer allowed to drive. Customarily, the companion who had been been there the longest was the preferred driver. One of our brand new missionaries got to drive a mission vehicle from the very start, as he was assigned a trainer who was no longer allowed to drive. The missionaries all knew how seriously Roger took vehicle safety.

This particular missionary who drove from the first was known to us before his mission as he and his father had been our home teachers back home. The colors are poor in these pictures, but here is the Christmas card he sent to us:




"Merry Christmas! Happy Everything! - Elder Caleb (still driving) Spendlove
PS- this counts as my home teaching, right?"

Laundry Soap

Grandma Lincoln asked me to include this in a posting, so here you go:

Laundry Soap

1 bar grated Fels Naphtha Soap
4 1/2 gallons really warm water
1 c. washing soda
1 c. borax

Cover soap with water in saucepan and heat until dissolved.


Pour in water. (Hope you can find a 5 gallon bucket.)
Add washing soda and borax.


Stir until it is all dissolved.
As it cools it will thicken. (Add more water if necessary.)
It does not make suds but does a good cleaning job.
If you don't like the smell, add Lavender Essential Oil, a few
drops until you like the odor. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load.

Good luck.

Grandma's best ornaments

While we were away from our family in West Virginia for 18 months, we received some very special Christmas ornaments for our tree. They looked rather like this:

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it is a clear ornament. Inside is a picture of one of our grandchildren. We received one for each grandchild. Grandchildren are definitely one of the best things in life. Here they are in order of age:






















Can you think of any better 'ornaments' than these?

Christmas downtown

Recently we were downtown and spent a time in the lobby of this lovely old building which used to be a hotel. It was all decorated for Christmas, although you can see that aside from Christmas, it is all ornately decorated.





This is the ceiling and chandelier above the Christmas tree.

New Bonnet

Most of my headwear is made of straw, which is great for summer, but not so good for wearing during a winter snowstorm. A couple of months ago I was at the local thrift store and found a brown felt hat. The price was right, so I brought it home to see what could be done with it. Since I wanted a bonnet rather than a full brim hat, we cut out the back part and then steamed it with an iron until it changed into more of a bonnet shape. Once it was the right shape, I took some lace which came from an old pillowcase and sewed it onto the brim of the bonnet. Then I add the ribbon. It worked great recently when I needed to wear it on a cold snowy day at the farm.

Train and Making Molding

Riding in a winter wonderland


In the old days, molding was made by hand, using a variety of molding planes. Here is the woodworking in the shop making some molding...and a LOT of shavings.

Winter at the Farm

Night before last there was a heavy fog, especially down near the river which led to the beautiful hoarfrost covering everything the next morning. Hope you enjoy the pictures.