I am so tickled!

It is 6:20 in the morning and it is light enough to write by!  I am so excited.  I love it to be daylight for longer and longer.  I guess I am truly a sun worshipper.  I will write more later but I just had to share this exciting news!

We just came back from getting our haircut.  It will be our last time in Denmark.  There will be a lot of 'last times' for the next 2 months.  It is very bittersweet.

The sun is shining and it is glorious outside.  The daffodils are shooting up and the earth is starting to green up.  I am in heaven.

We are going to go and play games with the other senior missionaries this evening.  Looking forward to an enjoyable evening.  Life is good.

A good day

We went to the temple this morning and did a bit of shopping.  The temple was in English again and so wonderful.  It has been a good day all around.

Happy Birthday to me!

I made a Texas Sheet Cake for the office.  I had not realized how Danish our tastes have become.  I had a very small square of cake and was almost nauseated from the sugar.  I will have to find ways to reduce the sugar in desserts when we get home so we can eat them.  It surely won't hurt us.  The only people in the office that enjoyed it were people that had lived stateside for a considerable period of time.  The rest had a 'no thank you bite' and left the rest alone.  Pretty funny

Mads was truly shocked when I told him I was 62.  He said he had thought we are in our mid 50's - tops.  Bo said that I look younger everyday!  Love these wonderful people. 

Our date has been set for our going away reception.  It is 21 April from 2-4 p.m.  You are all invited to attend.  It shouldn't be too hard to get here for it.  Clyde was teasing Jeppe and asked, "Is the mayor giving us a key to the city?"  Jeppe thought he was serious and said the mayor is giving us a citation for the wonderful amount of work we have done.  It should be interesting.

There is a young kid that rides our bus in the mornings.  He and his mother sit right around us everyday.  Lately he tries to catch my eye so I will smile at him.  Yesterday his mother told him to stop.  I hope he realizes that I think it is as fun as he does.  He is about 13 or 14.

There is a father with a baby girl that rides our bus in the afternoons.  Since she was itty bitty - 16 months ago, he gets on almost everyday and takes care of this sweet little girl.  I really admire him.  I have never seen his wife but have heard him talking to his daughter about her mom.

A wonderful Wednesday

This afternoon Stefan - one of our office mates - found out he is going to be working for one of the most prestigious software companies in Denmark.  He has been part time for 18 months and now has a wonderful fulltime job.  We are happy for him but sad to see him go.  Mads said that one of my sons is flying from the nest.

This afternoon Mads came in giddy with excitement.  He had the ingredients to make corned beef.  I went into the kitchen and he told me he was burning the spices for the brine.  I told him he didn't want to burn them but just warm them until they were fragrant.  Just then the flavors blossomed and the office smelled wonderful.

We got 2 huge books done and another 3/4 of the way through.  Tomorrow is our last work day.  Friday is our temple day.

The Last Tuesday of February

This month has flown by.  I can't believe that next Sunday is Fast Sunday.

We did 2 huge books today and started on the third one.  Clyde changed something in the 'file number' and went back to continue to capture the book and we lost the 300+ pages we had already done - so we went back and re-shot the book.  We only got to 200 pages at quitting time.

Mads wants me to make Rueben Sandwiches for everyone.  The problem is that you cannot buy corned beef in Denmark.  He found a recipe and is going to make his own.  We will see how this works.  I told him if all else fails, we could do hot pastrami on rye.  He got excited and said, "We will do that one too!"  He makes me laugh.

It was a good day.  I am getting a sore throat.  I hope it is just because of the mold and dust from the books.  I don't want to be sick for my birthday.

Murky Monday

I stayed home today.  I feel awful and ache all over.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

It has been so dark and rainy today that the streetlights have been on all day long.  Not fun.  So glad I am not out in it. 

I think I am a bit depressed.  Hopefully my spirit will be lightened tomorrow.  I know it is SAD.  It will get better soon.

Sweet is the work...

We sang 'Sweet is the Work' for our intermediate hymn today.  I started off by singing in English - something I have never done before.  Then about 1/2 way through the hymn, my dad whispered that he loved me and was so proud that I could sing and lead the music in Danish.  I cried for the rest of the hymn.

About 1/3 of the way through Sacrament meeting, I started getting blind spots and had a pounding headache.  I knew I would not be staying for the full set of meetings.  I leaned over just in time to hear Clyde say he needed an Excedrin to conquer a migraine.  I decided we would both come home.  I have slept most of the day.  Hopefully I will be up for tomorrow.

Since I have been called as the Branch Music Coordinator, I have had the 2 young women we have lead at least once a month.  They are getting more and more confident.  Today I told them that they would be very competent by the time I left in 2 months.  They both said they were not ready for that.  Oh, yes they are.  I am very proud of them.

We got the Branch History for 2014 today.  We are in almost all of the pictures and a lot of the verbiage is on us.  It is flattering but a bit over the top in my book.

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

It has rained all day long.  Our raincoats were so wet from our walk to and from the mall that they are still hanging to dry.  It has been another dark and dreary day.  However there was daylight by 7:10 this morning and it is still light enough to be able to write this without assistance.  But the lights will go on a little earlier tonight because it is sucking the light right out of the air with these heavy clouds.  Another up side - we could wear our raincoats instead of our heavy coats.  It was quite exhilarating.  Ducks were all over the grass and paths on the way there and little flowers are starting to blossom!  I love it.

My watch has been dying all week.  No glow at night and it has been losing time.  I couldn't find a watch I liked as well so I went and had the battery changed.  It cost me almost $20 but I do like the watch and it will last me for a lot longer.  I really looked at it this afternoon and she had changed the crystal on it too.  Well worth it.

Mads wants me to write down everything I need to make him a Reuben Sandwich.  I guess for my birthday I will be making everyone sandwiches.  Should be interesting.  We may have to make some modifications but we will see.

Life is good.  We are both very tired today but we have been able to take it easy and that will help with what needs to happen next week.  On Tuesday we are going to President and Sister Sederholm's for dinner again.  Elder and Sister Andersen are being released.  This is going to be hard on all of us because Elder Andersen is a local Danish missionary.  He served on the police force until his retirement and is well respected and loved by the all.  I hope they can find someone as good as him to replace his expertise.

A Dreary Friday

It has been dark and raining all day.  I hadn't realized just how dark and dreary it was until our ride home.  Street lights and house lights were on.  It has been weeks since we really needed that assist.  Made me a bit sad.

I wish I could fill you in on all of the goings on at the office.  Everyone is frantically trying to get computer work done for different areas of the cultural council.  They hardly have time for their own work.  The problem is that they do the culture work and get more because people think that is all they want to do.  They WANT to get back to their own projects and NOT do the cultural stuff.  It will soon get smoothed out.

Jerrn (pronounce yearn) came by our building today to get some small statues for the Thorvaldsen Museum from storage.  Elisabeth brought him up and we enjoyed a long visit.  He plays the organ at church and we have become quite good friends.  Elisabeth said that she had never seen the playful side of him before.  She said he was really fun.

We broke our record for the number of books done.  We did 59 for the week.  This is however not a record for the number of images.  We also got our new books for next week.  They are even wider than our last set of humongous books.  Hopefully we will be able to shoot them.

Scatter Sunshine

We had scattered sunshine today, a bit windy BUT it was light by 7:30 and stayed light until after 5p.m!  So happy.  I love light!

We did 9 - 200 page books today.  Things went fairly smoothly. 

Not a lot to report.  Did a bit of running around after work.  I need to find myself an inexpensive watch.  I may be waiting until I get home to get one.

Interesting Day

We did 18 books today.  We did 12 before noon.  Granted they were less than 100 pages but nonetheless - we plowed through our pile.  Things will slow down now as we get into bigger books.

I have noticed since Copenhagen's shootings that women that always wore burka's are not anymore.  I don't know if this is a short term decision or for the long haul.  Some still do but most that I see on a daily basis are not.

I was reading 'Historie' magazine today and looking for an article on Moses.  As I was flipping through I found a small article on the Pueblo Crew as POW's in North Korea in 1968.  I took the article and showed it to Mads and Lars.  I explained that our son-in-law read the commendation at Dad's funeral for his involvement in the repatriation of the crew.  He was given the commendation along with the Bronze star.  Lars said that his dad joined the Civil Defense patrol because he refused to kill anyone in the late 60's (We had small forces of Danish soldiers helping us in Viet Nam).  He was recognized for camouflaging a tank with daisies and dandelions.  Lars sad, "Obviously your father is a much greater man than my father will ever be."  I said, "He is a much greater person than any of us will be."  Lars loved that.

On the way home from work we saw a bus of police.  Then we saw 2 vans with police lined up to get their automatic weapons.  2 more vans with police all decked out and holding their weapons.  Police on the street walking with their weapons in their hands - not on their back.  Then just as we pulled into the train station, there was a bus and a van with military personnel and their guns in hand.  Don't know what was going down but aside from this observation - we are safe and know nothing else.

A Strange Day

I had to stay home today because 'they' were coming to check the meters.  I thought they were coming to check the electric and gas meters.  They came to check the hot water monitors that keep the water flowing freely and hot.  We had to have both of ours fixed.  On the list of the things that I will miss here - instant HOT water.

Not much to report.  Clyde is at PEC tonight and then Branch Council.  He won't get home until after 10:30.  I liked it best when he went in the light and came home in the light but that won't happen again while we are here.

Monday put things in perspective

I know everyone knows that we are fine after the 'shootings' in Copenhagen.  Poor Pernille came in today and I could tell she was spooked.  She looked awful and ordinarily does not come in on Monday but works from home.  Today she was there over an hour earlier than her usual time.  She lives by the synagogue that was attacked and spent all day yesterday afraid to leave her apartment.  I hugged her and told her things were going to be fine - but when you have gone through that ordeal it does take time to get over the shock. 

Stefan came in very forlorn.  His girlfriend dumped him on Valentine's day.  He said that this break-up was unexpected and harder than his split and subsequent divorce from his wife.  I was a bit surprised that he confided in me but I think he knows I care about him and would be sympathetic.

Lars started getting chills this afternoon.  He came to tell me that he was sick.  I told him to stay away from me!  He said all of his friends are either sick, have been sick or about to be sick.  I told him to quit running with a sickly crowd.  He smiled and then packed up and went home. 

This weekend was 'fastelavn' in Danish or 'fasching' in German.  It is basically the Lutheran festival to get ready for Lent.  Jeppe won a contest yesterday for best costume.  He was a pirate.  Here you hit a barrel and candy falls out once you bash it up good.  150 years ago the barrel held cats and you would pull the cat tails and swing the barrel around.  Then you would hit the barrel and kill the cats.  No one knows the purpose of the sick ritual but they think it goes back to plague times when they thought the cats were the ones that carried disease not the rodents.

We got 7 books done today - two big ones and 5 small ones.  It was a good day.  Tomorrow I have to stay home so they utility company can come and read the meters.

New Baby

Christine and Sebastian had a little boy on February 6.  His name is Elliott and he is beautiful.  Their older son, Birk thinks the baby is okay and will pet him - but other than that he is not interested.  Birk is 3.

Today was SOS - slaegsthistory og sandwiches (Family Search and sandwiches is the literal translation). A bishop visited us this last fall and went home and started the Proxy Picnic once a month in his ward.  The picture he sent was the cultural hall filled with tables, people and computers.  He would not let anyone leave until they had an account with Family Search.  Many are now indexing. 

Mary Morgan told me the other day that they have not started to index our work here because Salt Lake believes that there are few people who can index from Danish to English.  I know of 30 people that are anxious to start to index this work.  I don't know how to make Salt Lake more aware.  The problem is that Denmark cannot index the work until Family Search does.  They are all waiting. 

One of the other senior missionaries spoke in church about whether you will be happy or miserable.  He said you cannot blame anyone for the choices you personally make.  If you wake up wanting to be miserable - don't say that someone else made you feel that way.  If you want to be happy and an upbeat person - then be that person.  I told him I was a bit upset with Family Search for not getting the work out there to index.  He said, "You just decided to be upset.  You cannot blame Family Search for that choice - you made it."  He is right. 

A Valentine Saturday

We have had such wonderful weather all week and today not a smidge of sun anywhere.  Fortunately the weather was fairly pleasant and made shopping easy.  Last week Clyde bought a loaf of rye and seed bread that must have weight 5 lbs.  We still have that bread and the 5 Grain- so no bakery today.  It has been a quiet Valentines Day

A do nothing day

Clyde woke up with a coughing fit about 2 a.m.  I got him a Nyquil and water and went back to bed.  This morning we were going to the temple but I put my foot down.  He had been very warm when I touched him and I insisted he stay home and rest today.  He did just that.  He did go out and go Home Teaching but was not gone long.  We both need a day to do nothing.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a more productive day.

I hope I have learned my lesson this time

I have a very kind and loving Heavenly Father that repeatedly tries to get through my thick skull.  I am quick to judge and a blabbermouth - so the combination can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.  The hurt feelings this time were mine for judging harshly without knowing the full story.

I have corresponded with many people via email.  I have noticed a bad pattern in that as I interpret the email to my feelings - it is always harsh.  One woman I write, looked to me to be unbending and truly quite unpleasant.  That was how I interpreted her letters.  It turned out she has many responsibilities that made her ask the questions she asked and do the things she did.  I know I am not putting this well, but when we met - I met a gracious loving woman.  I was quite frankly astonished.  She was nothing like I envisioned.  Now - how long will I remember this lesson and not judge or jump to the worse conclusions - Heaven only knows.

It was a good day.  We had visitors again today and that took up an hour and 1/2 of our time.  We only had 60 pages to complete 3 books today but Clyde had to focus on the visitors and not the end goal.  We left work late because of the visitors and didn't get home until almost 5.  Tomorrow is our temple day.  I am looking forward to that.

We are off to President Sederholm's for dinner

The Morgan's - another Family Search couple have arrived and we will be having dinner tonight with them and the other senior missionaries.  I look forward to meeting them face to face after almost a year of writing to them.

Bo - at work- and his wife Juli are expecting a baby in July.  Mads is so tickled that you would think he was the father,

Our sweet Vanessa came in today for a consultation with Daniel.  She started her internship in the archive when we arrived and we became very close.  She found a permanent job a year ago in a small town in the North of the island we live on.  We visited with her for 20 minutes.  She is so wonderful.  She wants to come to our reception in April.

We got 3 of the big books done.  It was a bit of a miracle - considering the interruptions we had - but we did it.

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy!

The sun has been out all day and it made it to 50F!  Hip Hip hurray!  I would love it if this meant an early spring but I know that March is usually the worst month of the year here and I am going to enjoy any pleasant weather I can until then.

The guys at work knew it was Dad's funeral yesterday.  They were so sweet to me this morning - asking how it went and if I was okay.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful office mates.

We finished 2 books today and a partial again.  We did have to stop and talk to Jeppe about our reception when we leave.  He thinks we should plan on the mayor, the city council and the genealogy groups that benefit from our work.  He would also like Church members to come.  He thinks 80-100 people would be a good count!  I think they are overdoing it but Jeppe said that we deserve this.

A Celebration

Today is my father's funeral.  It will be a celebration of his life with all of the family there together.  They will retell stories and have a wonderful day.  I do wish we could be there but it isn't happening.  I will say my final goodbye when we return in April.

It was a glorious day.  There was abundant sunshine.  It was in the mid 40's and fun to walk out without hat or gloves. 

We did struggle with the two books we did today.  With D-cam acting up and the poor condition of the books - they each took us 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Clyde gets driven and I have to put my foot down to take breaks.  Sitting for hours on end is not good for anyone.  Sometimes he listens - most of the time he plows ahead while I walk and get a drink.

The guys at work were surprised to see me there today.  They thought I would be to devastated to come in.  I am made of tougher stuff than that.  They have been so sweet to me.

Good Day - Sunshine!

These are books we are going to do this week (the huge ones).  The books to the left of this stack are 9x14 inches and between 1 and 2 inches thick.  Haven't measured the big books yet.  We finished all of the little books on the left and the tan book laying down which was an index.

Here is another view.  The small books in the stack to the left of these books are books we will do after the huge ones.  The tan book (above) took us 2 hours and 45 minutes to finish.  Not the record for a book but pretty close.

These are welfare records from 1855-1915

This is what it looked like out of our window on February 2 - at work.  Part of the reason it is blurry is because it is snowing so hard.

A different angle.

There is a condemned parking garage next to the building.  This is the roof top of the garage with the playground from the first picture at the top.  It was a beautiful snow.  About 1/2 of the archive did not come in because it was snowing so badly.  They tele-commuted. 

Church was wonderful - as always.  Asia and Rowen Loftus - two of our young women gave sweet talks.  They are both US citizens but have been living in Denmark for the last 2+ years with their stepmother and their Dad - who is pilot.  He is currently working in China but usually works from Copenhagen for British Airlines.  Oh, by the way - Asia's full name is Anastasia.  She started calling herself Asia when she could speak - so it stuck.  She is 14.

It was an incredibly bright and sunshiny day.  Absolutely wonderful to be out in.

Saturday - doing the usual

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This was the scene as we walked from bus 10-bus 255S.  The city hall is on the left and a beautiful sunrise down the center.  This was taken at 7:30 a.m.  The street is H.C.Andersen Blvd.

As I left the train station yesterday I saw this.  Tuborg is a local beer company that is starting to spread into the US.  I almost lost my gloves trying to get this shot.  That would have been a tragedy in 19F temps.

Our sweet friend, Elsabeth Bloch brought me this beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I unwrapped them while I was Skyping with Heather and Evie.  Evie said they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen (she is 7).

The top view of the flowers.

Yesterday Clyde was talking to Mads.  Their conversation made me laugh.  They were looking out the window at the sun.

Clyde: What is that bright gold thing in the sky.

Mads: I don't know but I like it.

Clyde: It makes you feel good.

Mads: It does - let's keep it!

 

We spent the day as we always do on Saturdays - shopping and preparing for the Sabbath.  

It will feel better when it quits hurting.

As long as I can remember - my father would say that when were sick or otherwise distressed (unless it was truly serious).  Last night he whispered that to me as I slept.  It will eventually feel better but it will never feel the same.

I went back to work today for the first time since I found out about Dad.  I love my office mates!  Jeppe, Lars, Daniel and Mads, all held me.  It was so wonderful to feel so much love.  They asked thoughtful questions and truly wanted to help me through the grieving process.  Elisabeth sent me home a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday.  (My granddaughter, Evie, said they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen!).  Elisabeth told me that she had been living in Minnesota when her mother died unexpectedly.  She understands how helpless I feel.  Mads surprised me the most.  He said that in the coming years, when I die, my father will be there with his arms outstretched (I immediately thought - 'Yes, my father and my Heavenly Father').  I have spoken with Mads about eternal families several times.  I guess it stuck.  How blessed I am with this wonderful group of friends to support me.  It is the next best thing to being with my actual family.

The Blue Planet

I apologize for the blurry pictures but when you are shooting through glass, water and 'rain' - pictures don't come out very clear.  This is Clyde in the rain forest.  It was actually misty and foggy in this room.

Sea horses from the Australia area.

A tunnel that surrounds you with water - the floor was even clear.  It was hard to walk through because there was so much movement around us.  There were sharks and stingrays in this tank.  I probably sat there for 1/2 hour and just watched.  I love aquariums.
 

This was cute because it was a long tank and named 'Finding Nemo'.  Unfortunately none of the clown fish are showing in these pictures.

This is my most favorite picture of all of them.  I might just print it and frame it when we get home.  It was a wonderful afternoon in the aquarium (almost 2 months ago!).

Cry me a river

My father's death  has hit me much harder than I thought.  Clyde and I ended up staying home today.  We wrote our talks and visited about our memories of my father.  It has been a good day but the hole in my soul will never be complete in this life again. 

My father is gone.

Archie Maynard Brugger died last night.  He will leave a big hole in my life but I am so thankful that he is no longer in pain and no longer suffering.  He has been the best father.  I love him so much and I am so grateful to know that we are eternally bound together.  That brings me such peace.  Love you Dad.

It is looking like a winter wonderfuland out there.

The snow has fallen off and on all day.  On grassy surfaces there is about 1 inch - everywhere else it glazing over into ice.  I might have to think about work tomorrow.  I do not want to fall down.  That is the last thing I need.

Mikkel was the first person in this morning and then Stefan.  They were so quiet we didn't realize they were there.  They decided to clean out the 'junk closet' that has old chords, cables and other computer paraphernalia.  I teased them this afternoon that they were spending too much time in the closet.  Stefan said, "We won't come out until we are ready!"  Then he and Mikkel busted up laughing.  They are both married to beautiful women and have children. 

Daniel came in so excited that the Patriot's won.  I don't think he did much work today - he spoke to everyone he could about the great game but mostly to me.  I bet we discussed it one hour in total.  Because of the weather we only had about half the office there.  When you ride a bike, slick surfaces are not your friend.

We got 7 1/2 books done.  Probably the beginning of next week we will start on some of the biggest books we have ever done.

A Sunny then Snowy Sunday

It was a wonderful day.  It was sunshiny until we got home and then the snow came.  We were glad to come in when it was sunny.  Plus we made all of our bus connections today - it was wonderful.

I was give the insight of scriptures today.  Clyde and I were studying the Sunday School lesson.  We were struck by a scripture we had never really seen before.  We have read the New Testament several times plus studied for lessons in the scriptures and yet it was like we had never seen this before.  It was a testimony to me of the importance of scripture study.  No matter how many times we open the scriptures - we can and will learn something new if our hearts and minds are open. 

One of the sisters that bore her testimony today said that she was grateful for the Gospel because it lifted her.  I could understand her Danish but was till listening to the translation.  The translator said, "She is fueled up with the Gospel".  I smiled and hope that the gospel will always keep me 'fueled up'.