West Virginia: Country Roads, Take Me Home!

I love West Virginia! It is so beautiful here!!

I feel connected to this area for many reasons: I used to live in WV as a child while my dad was stationed nearby with the Navy; I have a TON of ancestors that lived within an hour of here and as far back as the 1730's; and I have living family here right now! It has been a wonderful week.

I feel the need to quote John Denver right now:

Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

This was a much quieter and slower week than what I've had in a long time. It was very much needed and very much appreciated.

Monday: I went for a hike above Harpers Ferry with my nephew Chandler. It was perfect weather for hiking, around 72 degrees or so. It was about 1.5 miles up a steady incline to the overlook, then 1.5 miles back down. We had to stop often just to catch our breath, but the view was well worth the effort!

The name of the hike was the "Overlook Cliff Trail", part of a rocky mountain known as Maryland Heights. Technically we were in Maryland for the afternoon, because we were on the opposite side of the rivers.

Note: By my taking a photo of the trail map before we started up the mountain, it proved to be helpful on at least 3 occasions. Once, we weren't sure if we were going the right way, but then it turned out we were. And twice we encountered other hikers on the trail that were lost. I was able to pull up this very photo and let them zoom in to see the trail map to get re-oriented.

From the overlook: Harpers Ferry is across from us, where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet

Shenandoah River to the left of Harpers Ferry

And the Potomac River to the right of Harpers Ferry

Here's the one photo Chandler allowed me to take, ha ha

Click for a video clip showing the view of Harpers Ferry:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SUFPS7jDJPQqstrw9

Tuesday: I went with my sister-in-law Pam to get a few things at Walmart. And happy surprise, my other sister-in-law Sharon works there! So I was able to hug her and visit briefly in between customers. She is such a happy person and it was fun to see her again! It's been a long time since we last visited in Idaho.

Later that afternoon, I went with my niece, Sierra, and her younger sister, Jessie, to a local flea market. There wasn't anything I was crazy about, until this . . .

It's basically just a little wooden box that looked so interesting. But when I saw DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS on it, I just about peed my pants. Dorchester has so much significance on my Norman family line. Just to refresh our memories: My Norman ancestors came from Dorchester, England and settled into a new life in Massachusetts in the early 1630's. They named their new home: Dorchester. Then they moved to South Carolina later on, naming their new town: Dorchester. Still later, they moved down to Georgia, naming their new home: Dorchester.

I wanted that box. I needed that box. But sadly, the price tag was $65. I couldn't justify spending that much money for a little wooden box with Dorchester on it. So I took pictures instead. I miss that beautiful little box though.

After we left the flea market, we drove up north a few miles to Martinsburg where Chelsea, Sierra and Chandler Harmon all reside in a large house where they each rent a private room. I got a tour of the house and yard. They are so lucky to have found such a lovely place to live, and they are happy there. I especially loved their Art Room. They get together to paint, usually once a month, and they include their other roommate, Nick, a 2nd grade P.E. teacher. They get canvases in bulk, and then have a fun time creating and visiting together. Their paintings are hung on a gallery wall in the same room. It felt like a happy room.

They made enchiladas for our dinner and we played a fun dice game called Pirate's Dice. I told Scott all about it because it's a math sort of game (right up his alley) and it was super fun! And then Jessie and I came back home.

Wednesday: I accompanied Pam to the weekly crafting group at the church behind our house here. She taught me how to bind a quilt edge using an invisible stitch. I was able to work on a quilted pillow covering that she'd already made, and I completed the binding using the new technique. It was fun to sit and gab with the ladies in the ward and get to know them while we worked on separate projects. (Sadly I did not think to take a picture)

Thursday: I ran several errands and got a much-needed haircut. I spent most of the day up in Martinsburg, WV. I mailed a package to Amber and the girls, I got a few household items, and I found this steal of a deal hat! I wanted a white hat, and went to several stores looking for one, but didn't find one that I liked. But this one was in Dick's Sporting Goods. It was originally $25, marked down to $17.99. It was a surprise though at the register when the final price was: $3.96!! I love a good deal!

I also had fun shopping for cards to send to a few people. This one was a good one. I shared it with Scott and we had a good laugh.

Friday: I worked on family history on my laptop for several hours. Jessie was home sick from school, and Pam was out of town for work training, so I was Jessie's companion for the day. While she watched TV shows, I did family history. Something interesting that I discovered while grouping all of my photos from the Library of VA into a Google Photo Album, is that I underestimated how many photos I actually took while at the Library. When you put them into a Google Photo Album, it tells you exactly how many photos there are.
I took 704. That's seven hundred and four. So I thought it would be wise to start sorting through them and reading what I could. My focus right now is on the Shenandoah Valley, since I am in the area. I am finding some great stuff for my adventures this coming week!!

Later that afternoon, when Chandler arrived, I told him I really wanted to go on a walk. He gave me some great directions for a nice walk within the neighborhood. So off I went. I was humming John Denver's song, "Country Roads, Take Me Home" while I walked down country roads, past horse pastures and huge colonial homes, grassy meadows and a beautiful sunset. It was very peaceful and therapeutic.

Spring flowers are blooming everywhere, including on the church property right behind our house.

Saturday: In the morning, Gordon, Jessie and I walked through the back yard over to the church. It was their family's turn to clean the church, so I was able to tag along. It felt AMAZING to clean!! It's been such a long time - way too long - since I was in a position to just dig in and clean something.

I helped get the chapel all spic and span and sparkly, even though nobody would be in it for a while. It's still the Lord's house and deserved some attention and care.

In the afternoon, I played tennis for TWO HOURS with 3 young men half my age (Chandler and 2 of his friends). And it was SO FUN!! They were very complimentary of my beginnerish skills, telling me repeatedly how awesome I was! And one of the young men, Alex, called us the Dream Team as we played doubles. Yay!

I also had fun doing Marco Polo videos back and forth with my sister, Melanie yesterday. She is so cute! :) (Hey Mel - SURPRISE!!)

Sunday: Gordon, having served as a former bishop, was able to bless and administer the Sacrament to Jessie and me this morning. (Pam is gone for 8 days for a work training) I had tears running down my face. What a special occasion it was to have the bread and water, representing the Atoning Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, blessed and passed in such a personal way. No distractions. No commotion. Just a very personal gift delivered directly to me. I am so grateful to have been here and to participate in that. If I were still out traveling, I doubt anyone would have known about me since my church records are back in Idaho Falls. But here in Harpers Ferry, I am with family. :) We watched a session of General Conference together afterwards. (October 2017 Saturday morning session)

I also had a wonderful phone call from my daughter, Amber, today as she was taking the girls out for a nature walk. Weston will be taking his optometry board exams on Wednesday of this week and we have all been praying mightily that he can avoid any sickness leading up to this epic milestone in his career. Amber has been really, really sick for several days now, but has been trying so hard to keep things clean and sterile for him. Today Amber sounded like she's on the mend. What a relief!

Abby also had a trip to the ER this past week. A friend took Abby and Gwen to the park so that Amber could get some packing and organizing done around the house. Barely one minute in at the park, Abby ran over to hop on the merry-go-round, not realizing that the bigger kids spinning it were stronger than she was in her ability to grab the bar and hop on. So it flung her instead, leaving her with a gash next to the corner of her mouth near her lip. She got 2 stitches and thankfully, Amber says she is healing very well.

News from Benson: Benson and Kylie are doing okay so far in Northern Italy. No Coronavirus. They have groceries. And they have each other. Yesterday, Benson sent us a video of an Italian Polizia car driving slowly down their street with the message blaring on the loudspeaker to stay indoors.
Click here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6iQjJJdN4Hn4aGtw8

Then when I told him I heard that a couple had been arrested in Italy for holding hands in public, Kylie texted saying that yes, when they walk in public they are purposefully a few feet apart. Everywhere you go, you have to be 3 feet apart from the next person. Only one person can go to the grocery store at a time, and there are lines outside the store as they can only let so many people in the store at the same time. Benson texted an hour later to report that the newest rule now is that Kylie can't ride in the front seat of the car when he's driving. She will have to ride in the back seat.

Our family chat immediately looked like this:

So this is a good time as any to announce my change of plans.
Sadly, I will not be going to Italy. I was supposed to spend 3 glorious months there. But alas, it is not meant to be. Instead, I have made the following tentative plans.

Plan B: (as long as there are no additional travel restrictions for this)

Mid-April I will fly back to Idaho and get settled back into my home. I will work around my nephew Caleb and his lovely wife's schedule so that they can get all packed up and head off to Arizona before I swoop in to take over. :)
I will be there for when Amber and the girls arrive in early May, as Weston drops them off and heads out for a year of rotations all over the country.
When Scott is ready to be released from duty sometime mid-summer, then I will fly back out to the East Coast and meet up with him there. We will pick up my car and drive home together, making new memories and visiting some awesome places along the way.
It all sounds lovely, doesn't it? I just hope it all works out. With so many things up in the air, one can never be too sure. But we can be flexible. We can be patient. And we can figure it out together. We have hope.

Scott was really REALLY sick this weekend. Poor guy. The Saudis fed him something for dinner Friday night that immediately caused a BAD reaction and he wished he had not eaten it. For about 24 hours he purged all the bad stuff out of his system. Thankfully today he is feeling stronger. I took some cute screenshots during our couple of conversations today. :)