It is harvest time so things are crazy here. Work for the regular crews begins very early and goes late at the plant. We have 20,000 acres of farm that is spread out over the area. A lot of the big machines are placed here and so it’s noisy and dusty as things get reved up each day. Sometimes I feel like we are living on Luke Skywalker’s planet with scores of Droids. The harvesting machines are “funky” looking. I love it when they come home at night all in a row like ducks, especially the shakers which are tiny and yellow! It is such an amazing process that takes place to plant, harvest and process all these almonds. Then they are shipped out to China, Japan and some other European countries. We began the pistachio harvest this week and that is done a little differently. Pistachios grow in clusters like grapes and can’t be dropped on the ground like the almonds. The shakers that shake the nuts off are equipped with things that look like butterfly wings so when the machine shakes the trees the nuts fall into big nets and then are conveyed into trailers. Sister Browning has written a paper on the whole process that I will send to you as soon as I can get a copy.
Dad is very busy renovating 2 homes that are needed for employees. He has done a variety of things from gutting ceilings to replace roof beams, sheet rocking, mudding, painting, replacing floor joists, putting in glass shower and tub surrounds, replacing pocket doors(11 on one of the homes) with regular doors, staining all of them, replacing spanish tiles on the steps of the home and making lots of trips to Home Depot and Lowe’s. Yesterday when I went to with him to Home Depot the man there said “How are the projects coming along? He told me that that man has helped him at all of the Home Depots he uses as the employees rotate between stores. Your Dad goes into a store with the plan to ask for help so that he can become very visible to people. That often leads to a discussion of who we are and what we are doing.
We are busy getting to know what to do in cub scouts. We are the Webelos leaders but our dens are so small that we meet together. We pick up boys and take them home so Tuesday nights are pretty crazy. This week we began making stilts with them. We are meeting in the park in Shafter , about 7 miles from here until the weather gets too cold. Then we will move to the chapel in Wasco. They are really great kids. We have a few that are not members but want to be scouts. This week one of their Dads came and helped.
Last Saturday was the big “Make a blanket Day” for Project Linus. Sister Browning and I drove to the stake Center in Bakersfield, about 25 miles away. It was an incredible day. The whole cultural hall was filled with people, lots of groups from the community. I was amazed at the number of families and men that came. They had stacks of quilts that were already put together and bound. People sat around the tables and tied them. There were women with sewing machines that sewed labels on them. Each group or ward that came brought the ones they had done at home. We delivered 8 fleece blankets, 5 tied quilts, and the afghan that I crocheted this month. I spent most of the day in the crocheting corner and learned some new stitches. Our group made hundreds of granny squares and others connected them to make afghans. The Elders and sisters in the Bakersfield area came and worked there also. It was fun to teach the Elders how to crochet! Some of them had the job to pin a tag on each blanket that has a beautiful poem. I got to meet some really neat people from the community. This project is so overwhelming; so many wonderful things are done for children and adults in Trauma situations. They are national so I you are looking for a service project, check out Project Linus on the internet.
Our next community day is in February so we will be working on new donations for that in the ward. I have started a new afghan. I will be joining a group that meets on the 3rd Tuesday each month to work on projects and visit. I am still trying to come up with a plan to hold English classes for employees at the plant. They only have a short time and the materials that I have here are all outdated. I really need to create a class in conversational English to help them feel better about daily communication at work and in the stores around town. If you have any ideas please send them!!
We were able to go to the Fresno Temple a few weeks ago. Wonderful day! We spent 2 days wonderful with Corey and Sarah and the kids in San Diego for Madison’s birthday and will be going there for General Conference weekend.
We feed the missionaries and work hard, and also have fun. This is a great time in our lives!!
We miss you all and hope you know that we pray daily for you all that you will be blessed with safety and strength but mostly that you will have experiences that will grow your testimonies and bring you to the Savior. As I read, study and serve I am so moved by the Gospel plan that Heavenly Father has given to us to help us grow and learn. It is not always easy, it never was meant to be, but as we seek his help in ALL things he will bless us and strengthen us. He knows each one of us individually, loves us beyond our belief, and stands ready to bring us home to him if we will but let him. The Gospel plan is so simple—we tend to complicate it . I want you to Know that we know this to be true.
With all our love, Mom (grandma)
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