Ivy gone wild
Does a blacksmith live behind this mural?
A modest summer cottage?
A very OLD chateau
The old gate to the very OLD chateau
Camper Remodel Finished
4 years ago
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, October 3, 2011
France, August 8, 2010
After departing Geneva, our first night's stop was in the town of Bourbon-L’Archambault, dating back to the time of the Romans. Buildings of the hotel were originally houses built in the 16-1700's. It was quaint and delighfully charming. 
It was hard to decide whether to eat breakfast in an inner atrium or in the hotel courtyard.
At the end of the courtyard was a tree planted in 1529 by capucian monks, and it's still going strong.
Here what the tree looks like after 481 years.
It was hard to decide whether to eat breakfast in an inner atrium or in the hotel courtyard.
At the end of the courtyard was a tree planted in 1529 by capucian monks, and it's still going strong.
Here what the tree looks like after 481 years.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
We can no longer stand looking at the same picture when we open our blog to check other family members' blogs. So we've decided to add three or four pix each week, with very little writing. These will be taken first from our post-mission trip with Heidi and company, and then from our trip with Paul & Connie, and eventually from our trip back to Europe this past summer.
Here's the first set:
Dede has been waiting a long time for this to happen. (Here she "sits," in front of the Einstein House in Grand Sacconnex, a Geneva suburb)
Here's the first set:
Dede has been waiting a long time for this to happen. (Here she "sits," in front of the Einstein House in Grand Sacconnex, a Geneva suburb)
The boat brings the family in from their trip on Lake Geneva. The Cathedral of St Pierre (St Peter) highlights the skyline.
The entrance to St Pierre Cathedral.
In the plaza, the Reformer John Calvin burned some of his opponents at the stake (times were tough in the 1500's)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Week of 25 July 2010:
This will likely be the final blog of our mission, as we will pack and clean the apartment before the arrival of Heidi, Dave, Jason and company on Thursday; SO, you get to see lots more pictures of this final week.
Sunday we picked up the Crisinels to take them to Neuchâtel for church with our young adult friends. Just before announcing the intermediate hymn, Bishop Psota said that he was glad that Elder and Sister Hinman were visiting, and that he’d like to invite us to bear our testimonies after the song. We went up together, and Dede suggested I go first – again in French. After the meeting, Sister Walzer told us how much we had helped their 4 young adults (Sarah, Jonathan, Samuel, and Noemi), just by always being there and by being enthusiastic. We tried to explain how much we loved them, and that it was easy to be enthusiastic when the young people were such great examples for
us.
The wee village of Coppet on Sunday's way home
A missionary version of the "armor of God"
Monday at the Spanish Family home evening, the sister missionaries taught an effective lesson about being protected by the armor of God, as in Ephesians 6:13-17. To illustrate their points, they had a young man, Grevy – from Peru, stand on a chair; each time an item of protection was mentioned, they put a label on him: for example, the shield of faith was a ping-pong paddle with the word “faith” (Fe) written on it; the breastplate of righteousness was a labeled apron; the helmet of salvation was a giant sombrero. Much of the rest of the week involved our preparing a memory book for the Yverdon young adults with 150 pictures that we’d taken over the past year: activities, dinners, dances, family home evening events, temple trips, wedding receptions, etc. Thursday was our final family home evening with Anthony and the Crisinels. Anthony had prepared a lesson regarding our need to repent, learn the counsel of the brethren and follow it, and prepare ourselves for the return of the Savior, which is near (in Spanish, our opening hymn “the Time is Far Spent” is titled “the end approaches”). We worked with the Crisinels to finish our last report for Frankfurt – until 10:30; goodbye hugs were shared, tears were nearly shed, and we bid farewell to these dear friends before heading home. We hope to see them in the temple – perhaps in October when we return for the Bustamante sealing.
A colorful lane near cousin Shannon Walch's apt
Friday we received an email from Salt Lake giving us the booking/reservation numbers for our flight home from Madrid with Heidi, Dave and Jason – on the same plane, just 10 rows apart. That was good news, since we leave the apartment in 5 days, and without these numbers, it would be hard to convince the airline folks to let us go home. We also took my very heavy suitcase (72 lbs) to the Swiss post office to try to mail it home, but were told the maximum weight is 66 lbs – so we had to load it back into the car and take it home to transfer some things to Dede’s suitcase.
We wish we'd had time to spend in this park in the town of Nyon
Saturday, we successfully shipped our two giant suitcases back home (and both were under the 30 kg = 66 lb limit). After wandering through the Saturday outdoor market (Marché) in Ferney-Voltaire, we took a leisurely drive along Lake Geneva toward the village of Morges, in order to take pictures of some of the unique or colorful round points. One of the best spots was a park next to the lake in Nyon.
At this round point, it looks like the frog has escaped the heron's search for its dinner.
That evening, we were treated to a barbeque at the mission home. The Badgers came from Lyon, and all 5 couples plus President and Sister Murdock were there, along with Denise Mumford and the Philippine housekeeper Betty and her friend. Sister Hanson made her famous 3 –or 4 bean salad; Sister Asay made a potato salad with black olives; President Murdock barbequed large pieces of chicken for everyone,
and cool watermelon and egg rolls (made by Betty) rounded out the main meal. Dessert was Sister Doyle’s famous lemon meringue pie. We felt incredibly privileged to associate with such noble people, many of whom had served several years as temple workers prior to their coming here for their missions. They all signed a card for us, and shared a gift – a beautifully embroidered Yvoire fabric bread basket/server/carrier that unties to lie flat. After the pleasant evening, we returned home and packed more clothing/books – until midnight (our almost usual quitting time).
Elders Doyle and Hinman inspect President Murdock's work at the grill
Sunday was our last trip to church in Yverdon.
... but not by bicycle.
During the meeting, Dede shared her testimony; after just a word or so, she choked with emotion and stood silently for a minute. The young son in the Gomez family came up and offered her a Kleenex, as did a member of the bishopric. She expressed deep appreciation for the members of the ward, particularly Bastien Bonny; he enters military service on Monday, and then leaves for his mission in January); she also praised Anthony Lopez for his faithfulness. We were touched by the testimony of Br Peluzzo, age 87, who is the Ward’s family history consultant. He had recently had to have his right eye removed; after that, a serious infection developed, and he was wearing a gauze patch. He bore a strong and fervent testimony of God’s love and the need to persevere; I could almost visualize the Savior’s giving him a big hug when he gets to the other side and thanking him for his life of faithfulness. Toward the end of the meeting, I felt impressed to bear my testimony also, even though it needed to be in French. I read D&C 90:24, and affirmed that the promises are true: that EVERYTHING does work together for our good if we meet the requirements of that verse. After the meeting, I was able to take pictures of almost everyone in the ward as they exited the building. On the way home, we took the opportunity to drive up into the Jura Mountains to see if we could locate a village perched high above the Yverdon valley. We found a beautiful pull-out for a panoramic vista of the valley with the Alps in the background, and noticed that this was also the site for launching the para-gliders we’d seen in the sky.
A sign proclaimed this region to be the “Balcony of the Juras.” 
This flower really "grabbed us"
and so did these, in the same hollowed-out log
If you ever come to the Jura Mountains, please wach out for hedgehogs in the road
Sunday we picked up the Crisinels to take them to Neuchâtel for church with our young adult friends. Just before announcing the intermediate hymn, Bishop Psota said that he was glad that Elder and Sister Hinman were visiting, and that he’d like to invite us to bear our testimonies after the song. We went up together, and Dede suggested I go first – again in French. After the meeting, Sister Walzer told us how much we had helped their 4 young adults (Sarah, Jonathan, Samuel, and Noemi), just by always being there and by being enthusiastic. We tried to explain how much we loved them, and that it was easy to be enthusiastic when the young people were such great examples for
us.The wee village of Coppet on Sunday's way home
A missionary version of the "armor of God"
Monday at the Spanish Family home evening, the sister missionaries taught an effective lesson about being protected by the armor of God, as in Ephesians 6:13-17. To illustrate their points, they had a young man, Grevy – from Peru, stand on a chair; each time an item of protection was mentioned, they put a label on him: for example, the shield of faith was a ping-pong paddle with the word “faith” (Fe) written on it; the breastplate of righteousness was a labeled apron; the helmet of salvation was a giant sombrero. Much of the rest of the week involved our preparing a memory book for the Yverdon young adults with 150 pictures that we’d taken over the past year: activities, dinners, dances, family home evening events, temple trips, wedding receptions, etc. Thursday was our final family home evening with Anthony and the Crisinels. Anthony had prepared a lesson regarding our need to repent, learn the counsel of the brethren and follow it, and prepare ourselves for the return of the Savior, which is near (in Spanish, our opening hymn “the Time is Far Spent” is titled “the end approaches”). We worked with the Crisinels to finish our last report for Frankfurt – until 10:30; goodbye hugs were shared, tears were nearly shed, and we bid farewell to these dear friends before heading home. We hope to see them in the temple – perhaps in October when we return for the Bustamante sealing.
A colorful lane near cousin Shannon Walch's apt
Friday we received an email from Salt Lake giving us the booking/reservation numbers for our flight home from Madrid with Heidi, Dave and Jason – on the same plane, just 10 rows apart. That was good news, since we leave the apartment in 5 days, and without these numbers, it would be hard to convince the airline folks to let us go home. We also took my very heavy suitcase (72 lbs) to the Swiss post office to try to mail it home, but were told the maximum weight is 66 lbs – so we had to load it back into the car and take it home to transfer some things to Dede’s suitcase.
We wish we'd had time to spend in this park in the town of Nyon
Saturday, we successfully shipped our two giant suitcases back home (and both were under the 30 kg = 66 lb limit). After wandering through the Saturday outdoor market (Marché) in Ferney-Voltaire, we took a leisurely drive along Lake Geneva toward the village of Morges, in order to take pictures of some of the unique or colorful round points. One of the best spots was a park next to the lake in Nyon.
At this round point, it looks like the frog has escaped the heron's search for its dinner.
That evening, we were treated to a barbeque at the mission home. The Badgers came from Lyon, and all 5 couples plus President and Sister Murdock were there, along with Denise Mumford and the Philippine housekeeper Betty and her friend. Sister Hanson made her famous 3 –or 4 bean salad; Sister Asay made a potato salad with black olives; President Murdock barbequed large pieces of chicken for everyone,
and cool watermelon and egg rolls (made by Betty) rounded out the main meal. Dessert was Sister Doyle’s famous lemon meringue pie. We felt incredibly privileged to associate with such noble people, many of whom had served several years as temple workers prior to their coming here for their missions. They all signed a card for us, and shared a gift – a beautifully embroidered Yvoire fabric bread basket/server/carrier that unties to lie flat. After the pleasant evening, we returned home and packed more clothing/books – until midnight (our almost usual quitting time).Elders Doyle and Hinman inspect President Murdock's work at the grill
Sunday was our last trip to church in Yverdon.
... but not by bicycle.
During the meeting, Dede shared her testimony; after just a word or so, she choked with emotion and stood silently for a minute. The young son in the Gomez family came up and offered her a Kleenex, as did a member of the bishopric. She expressed deep appreciation for the members of the ward, particularly Bastien Bonny; he enters military service on Monday, and then leaves for his mission in January); she also praised Anthony Lopez for his faithfulness. We were touched by the testimony of Br Peluzzo, age 87, who is the Ward’s family history consultant. He had recently had to have his right eye removed; after that, a serious infection developed, and he was wearing a gauze patch. He bore a strong and fervent testimony of God’s love and the need to persevere; I could almost visualize the Savior’s giving him a big hug when he gets to the other side and thanking him for his life of faithfulness. Toward the end of the meeting, I felt impressed to bear my testimony also, even though it needed to be in French. I read D&C 90:24, and affirmed that the promises are true: that EVERYTHING does work together for our good if we meet the requirements of that verse. After the meeting, I was able to take pictures of almost everyone in the ward as they exited the building. On the way home, we took the opportunity to drive up into the Jura Mountains to see if we could locate a village perched high above the Yverdon valley. We found a beautiful pull-out for a panoramic vista of the valley with the Alps in the background, and noticed that this was also the site for launching the para-gliders we’d seen in the sky.
A sign proclaimed this region to be the “Balcony of the Juras.” 
This flower really "grabbed us"
and so did these, in the same hollowed-out log
If you ever come to the Jura Mountains, please wach out for hedgehogs in the road
Vinyards and a village grace the base of the Juras
As the sign says, it's time for us to exit. It's been terrific being here.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Week of 18 July 2010:
IT MAY SEEM LIKE TOO MANY PICTURES, BUT IT'S ALMOST THE END OF OUR MISSION
We arose (groggily) at 7:30 to prepare to pick up the Crisinels in Renens and take them to Fribourg for church. It turned out that the shortest distance was not the fastest. And then we encountered a 20-km detour through many small villages. As a result, we were 10 minutes late for the start of their meeting. Monday, it was a bit of a challenge to extract the 220 euros needed to buy stamps from the Ferney-Voltaire “treasury” that we need to pay (retroactively) for our permission to stay in France (the “titre de séjour”): the post office ATM would only allow 1 withdrawal (200 e); two or three banks in the area were all closed on Mondays; but finally I located another ATM that allowed me to pull out the remaining cash (meanwhile Dede sat patiently in the car – with the air conditioning running).
Free stuffed critters were awarded to all who attended Monday's Spanish family home evening
Tuesday was a day filled with little miracles. When we went to the Ferney-Voltaire mayor’s office, it only took 5 minutes to receive and sign for our renewal titre de séjour. Valerie, the woman who deals with us foreigners, looked at us as if we were a bit crazy when we told her we were leaving in just over two weeks – why would we pay $288 for that, she wondered. But we felt it best to keep the name of the Church in good standing and not try to “weasel out” of a debt we owed for our residence in France since the first part of February. Maybe someday she’ll remember that a pair of Mormon missionaries had been totally honest when they didn’t have to be. Around noon, the Doyles called to invite us to go to Annemasse with them for the “mardi-fou” (crazy Tuesday) half-price pizzas at Domino’s.
An interesting round point foretells things to see later Tuesday afternoon
We did, and thoroughly enjoyed a juicy pizza that had both chicken and pepperoni (called “chicken-itza”). After that, they took us to a park about 5 miles away, called “Vitam,” in which there were at least five elaborate outdoor swimming pools and 3 or 4 indoor ones beneath a timber structure Quonset hut covered with a giant plastic tarp (cost for a day of fun is a mere 19 euros).
A FEW of the outdoor water attractions at park "Vitam"
The indoor pools are covered (for winter fun??)
What a great place for a cool vacation
Inside the shopping area of the “park” there was an elaborate set of rock climbing walls. We watched in amazement as young people scaled the walls, one young man hung upside down for much of his climb – which we estimated was a good 50 or 60 feet high.
Maybe this is how climbers practice before ascending real mountains
He really is hanging upside down (click to enlarge picture)
In spite of this unexpected 3-hour adventure, we made it to the Geneva Center to prepare for the international young adult family home evening. Dede had previously cooked the pasta, and at the center, while I cut a watermelon into little 2-inch wedges, she chopped red peppers, peeled and chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, and added tuna and dressing to make a giant salad for the 12-14 young adults we expected. Around 7:15, young adults began arriving: Laura C, then Spencer G, then Denise M. When we noticed that Denise had set a pile of scriptures at the edge of the table and we asked her about that, she affirmed she was going to give the lesson: the little miracle here was that Spencer had told us that Shannon Walch was going to give the lesson, but that she had called to say she couldn’t make it due to her work at CERN. Then Denise told us that Bp Volpicelli had originally asked her to teach on Thursday, but subsequently had called to say he had overbooked: another person had already accepted that assignment, and so would she teach on Tuesday instead. Voilà! We had a lesson. After the lesson, the kids got together for a game – spontaneously. The YSA stayed until almost 10:30, but they all interacted so well that we were thrilled: two were native French speakers (Laetitia and Laura); three were American (two were return missionaries – Denise and Spencer, and Natasha); three were from South America (Diego, Rolando, and Danielle), Fabio is from Brazil, and Anja is from German-speaking Switzerland. We were hot and tired, but because of our wonderful air-conditioned car (that cools down within seconds) we went home extremely happy for the blessings of the day.
Thursday, we left the missionary district meeting early to go to Lausanne to have lunch with Eric and Sabrina since we wanted to thank them for all their efforts over at least the past year+ in leading the young adults – and organizing and accomplishing things so well (all we did was to show up and smile, and occasionally bring some food to munch on). We drove up early to Yverdon, and since we had time, drove to St Croix and then on to the village of Brévine, the “Siberia of Switzerland” – where during the winter, the valley is the coldest spot in the count
ry – having gotten down to -42.6 degrees.
This valley is called the Siberia of Switzerland, but brother Paul says it gets colder in South Porcupine, Ontario, Canada
Friday in Neuchâtel, Joël was the videographer, Eric was the director, and the filming of a Smurf-video for the August conference for French-speaking young adults began. As filming moved into a classroom, they asked Dede to serve as Institute teacher, and say a few things in French to introduce the topic of Book of Mormon heroes. She did quite well, in spite of the surprise. Pizza appeared and was quickly cooked, after which Sabrina became a blue smurf, wielding a pair of pistols (we’re not sure what her role is supposed to be). After a few poses and action shots, Lorenzo and Sarah were transformed, and then Michael Canonica. The filming moved outside, where the “robber” smurf (Michael) frightened Sarah, at which point, “Superman Smurf” (Lorenzo) appeared, deftly caught a bullet from Michael’s gun, and then blew Michael over (who did a back flip).
A couple of the Smurfs join us for pictures after filming
Finally, we needed to return home, so Eric asked for a group picture – at which time he presented us each with a red tee-shirt having the white Swiss cross, and which each of the kids that evening (probably while we were eating pizza and Texas brownies) had autographed with a tender message of appreciation. It was hard not to cry.
Why would anyone (thousands of years before Christ) plant a monstrous rock like this?
Saturday’s highlight was a trip back to Yverdon with the Doyles, where we located a meadow in the woods near Lake Neuchâtel that contained numerous large stone “megaliths.” Some of these were supposed to resemble human forms, and some were probably 12-15 feet high, weighing many tons. They were in a pattern, some with straight lines. They had presumably been erected 4000 – 6000 years BEFORE Christ. We then toured the Yverdon castle and its wedding traditions exhibit. After a quick stop at McDonald’s for ice cream, we drove up to St Croix (mainly to show them the 10 hairpin switchbacks, but also the pastoral scenery down in the valley). It’s hard to believe that in just over a week, these mission experiences will have to come to an end – at least until we can go on another mission.
We arose (groggily) at 7:30 to prepare to pick up the Crisinels in Renens and take them to Fribourg for church. It turned out that the shortest distance was not the fastest. And then we encountered a 20-km detour through many small villages. As a result, we were 10 minutes late for the start of their meeting. Monday, it was a bit of a challenge to extract the 220 euros needed to buy stamps from the Ferney-Voltaire “treasury” that we need to pay (retroactively) for our permission to stay in France (the “titre de séjour”): the post office ATM would only allow 1 withdrawal (200 e); two or three banks in the area were all closed on Mondays; but finally I located another ATM that allowed me to pull out the remaining cash (meanwhile Dede sat patiently in the car – with the air conditioning running).
Free stuffed critters were awarded to all who attended Monday's Spanish family home evening
Tuesday was a day filled with little miracles. When we went to the Ferney-Voltaire mayor’s office, it only took 5 minutes to receive and sign for our renewal titre de séjour. Valerie, the woman who deals with us foreigners, looked at us as if we were a bit crazy when we told her we were leaving in just over two weeks – why would we pay $288 for that, she wondered. But we felt it best to keep the name of the Church in good standing and not try to “weasel out” of a debt we owed for our residence in France since the first part of February. Maybe someday she’ll remember that a pair of Mormon missionaries had been totally honest when they didn’t have to be. Around noon, the Doyles called to invite us to go to Annemasse with them for the “mardi-fou” (crazy Tuesday) half-price pizzas at Domino’s.
An interesting round point foretells things to see later Tuesday afternoon
We did, and thoroughly enjoyed a juicy pizza that had both chicken and pepperoni (called “chicken-itza”). After that, they took us to a park about 5 miles away, called “Vitam,” in which there were at least five elaborate outdoor swimming pools and 3 or 4 indoor ones beneath a timber structure Quonset hut covered with a giant plastic tarp (cost for a day of fun is a mere 19 euros).
A FEW of the outdoor water attractions at park "Vitam"
The indoor pools are covered (for winter fun??)
What a great place for a cool vacation
Inside the shopping area of the “park” there was an elaborate set of rock climbing walls. We watched in amazement as young people scaled the walls, one young man hung upside down for much of his climb – which we estimated was a good 50 or 60 feet high.
Maybe this is how climbers practice before ascending real mountains
He really is hanging upside down (click to enlarge picture)
In spite of this unexpected 3-hour adventure, we made it to the Geneva Center to prepare for the international young adult family home evening. Dede had previously cooked the pasta, and at the center, while I cut a watermelon into little 2-inch wedges, she chopped red peppers, peeled and chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, and added tuna and dressing to make a giant salad for the 12-14 young adults we expected. Around 7:15, young adults began arriving: Laura C, then Spencer G, then Denise M. When we noticed that Denise had set a pile of scriptures at the edge of the table and we asked her about that, she affirmed she was going to give the lesson: the little miracle here was that Spencer had told us that Shannon Walch was going to give the lesson, but that she had called to say she couldn’t make it due to her work at CERN. Then Denise told us that Bp Volpicelli had originally asked her to teach on Thursday, but subsequently had called to say he had overbooked: another person had already accepted that assignment, and so would she teach on Tuesday instead. Voilà! We had a lesson. After the lesson, the kids got together for a game – spontaneously. The YSA stayed until almost 10:30, but they all interacted so well that we were thrilled: two were native French speakers (Laetitia and Laura); three were American (two were return missionaries – Denise and Spencer, and Natasha); three were from South America (Diego, Rolando, and Danielle), Fabio is from Brazil, and Anja is from German-speaking Switzerland. We were hot and tired, but because of our wonderful air-conditioned car (that cools down within seconds) we went home extremely happy for the blessings of the day.
Thursday, we left the missionary district meeting early to go to Lausanne to have lunch with Eric and Sabrina since we wanted to thank them for all their efforts over at least the past year+ in leading the young adults – and organizing and accomplishing things so well (all we did was to show up and smile, and occasionally bring some food to munch on). We drove up early to Yverdon, and since we had time, drove to St Croix and then on to the village of Brévine, the “Siberia of Switzerland” – where during the winter, the valley is the coldest spot in the count
ry – having gotten down to -42.6 degrees.This valley is called the Siberia of Switzerland, but brother Paul says it gets colder in South Porcupine, Ontario, Canada
Friday in Neuchâtel, Joël was the videographer, Eric was the director, and the filming of a Smurf-video for the August conference for French-speaking young adults began. As filming moved into a classroom, they asked Dede to serve as Institute teacher, and say a few things in French to introduce the topic of Book of Mormon heroes. She did quite well, in spite of the surprise. Pizza appeared and was quickly cooked, after which Sabrina became a blue smurf, wielding a pair of pistols (we’re not sure what her role is supposed to be). After a few poses and action shots, Lorenzo and Sarah were transformed, and then Michael Canonica. The filming moved outside, where the “robber” smurf (Michael) frightened Sarah, at which point, “Superman Smurf” (Lorenzo) appeared, deftly caught a bullet from Michael’s gun, and then blew Michael over (who did a back flip).
A couple of the Smurfs join us for pictures after filming
Finally, we needed to return home, so Eric asked for a group picture – at which time he presented us each with a red tee-shirt having the white Swiss cross, and which each of the kids that evening (probably while we were eating pizza and Texas brownies) had autographed with a tender message of appreciation. It was hard not to cry.
Why would anyone (thousands of years before Christ) plant a monstrous rock like this?
Saturday’s highlight was a trip back to Yverdon with the Doyles, where we located a meadow in the woods near Lake Neuchâtel that contained numerous large stone “megaliths.” Some of these were supposed to resemble human forms, and some were probably 12-15 feet high, weighing many tons. They were in a pattern, some with straight lines. They had presumably been erected 4000 – 6000 years BEFORE Christ. We then toured the Yverdon castle and its wedding traditions exhibit. After a quick stop at McDonald’s for ice cream, we drove up to St Croix (mainly to show them the 10 hairpin switchbacks, but also the pastoral scenery down in the valley). It’s hard to believe that in just over a week, these mission experiences will have to come to an end – at least until we can go on another mission.
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