Carmelcorn, Rotisserie Turkey, Krispie Candy/Scotch-a-roos & friendships and weekly letter

 

October 30, 2022

Hello dear family:

It’s been a nice week because:

·        I was able to joke with Brad about his birthday and photos from his childhood, (Brad took the kidding in stride.)

·         FaceTime with Brian/Megan/Amy/Mike/Hayden last Sunday, Amy and Brian entertained me while they remembered days of yore when we all went tomato harvesting and made homemade spaghetti sauce and lots more fun memories. 

·        Amy/Mike/Conner and I had hamburgers with my huge beefsteak tomato for dinner Friday night.  I had been pestering Amy for a couple weeks about my huge beefsteak tomato that was growing, ripening, and ready to eat.  It was so huge (as big as my hand) that I couldn’t possibly eat it myself so I took burger patties, buns, tomato and salald Friday night over to their house for dinner so Mike could BBQ the burgers. 

It’s always nice to be with family.

Over the years I have noticed that it is hard to maintain friendships without a lot of effort.  It is easy if they are in the same ward with you and you see them frequently.  But if the friendships are formed outside of church, or if they move away, or if you get busy raising children…..it becomes “out of sight-out of mind.”  I’ve noticed that Amy puts lots of energy and thought and action into nurturing her friendships.  Many of you do as well, but because I see her and she lives here, it’s easier to notice.  So in an effort to make Carter (while he’s on his mission)  “In our sight & In our mind” Brad and Sheri have given permission for me to share their first letter from Carter (Elder Schnell).  He is currently in the Mexico MTC. Note:  they are having trouble getting permission to enter Chile.

Hey everybody! It's Elder Schnell. I've just about finished the MTC here in Mexico city. I am supposed to ship out this monday, but there seems to be some sort of complication with getting into Chile. We were all told that Chile now has a new government and they're not really letting anyone in, and that we're all going to be reassigned, could be temporary, could be permanent, they don't tell us much. I will keep you all posted on where they send me, whether it be santiago or wherever else. 

 

My Spanish has generally improved but I feel like I am plateauing a bit. I took Spanish all throughout highschool, and for some reason nobody ever mentioned that tenses were a thing in spanish. If you'd like to give yourself a headache, look into subjunctive or preterite, or any of the trillion ways to conjugate a Spanish verb, and throw in random stem changes and irregular verbs, and sometimes they just completely change the word: hence the plateau. I can usually hold my own by now, i place around 40% fluency on the tests they give us, but when somebody starts asking me questions about past events or possible future actions and a million other circumstances, all i can do is just smile and give them a thumbs up and say yes hoping that it was a question. :) 

 

There's not a whole lot else that goes on around here, it's just sleep, eat, spanish, eat, exercise, spanish, eat, spanish, sleep. The schedule here is so tight you couldn't fit a dollar bill in between the gaps. We are told to be 15 minutes early to every class, meeting or project, even though we are only given 5 between each event. keeps us busy for sure. The food here is well... interesting. If you ever find yourself down here, don't eat the red chicken :) On the first day my companion and I were chosen to be the zone leaders, so that's been an experience for sure. We've currently got 6 districts under our wing and we've welcomed all of them individually with impromptu talks at any given moment during the meetings, per the branch presidents request.

 

Overall, things have been smooth sailing, as smooth as they can be when my companion feels entitled to have his hands on the rudder at all times. Our relationship is a work in progress, a very... long process. I'm trying my best. 

 

I hope all is well.  con mucho amor :) -Elder Schnell

 

Friendships:  (I find enjoyment from other people’s thoughts and quotes)

"Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life."  Amy Poehler

"I get by with a little help from my friends."  The Beatles

"Close friends are truly life’s treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves."  Vincent Van Gogh

"We were together. I forget the rest."  Walt Whitman

This last one reminds me of Judy.  Truly she was my best friend.  At my age it’s hard to find a new best friend. Thankfully I have Glennda who has always been there as well.

 I am including a couple more recipes prior to the holidays.  The Rotisserie Turkey was a huge success.  I only did it once; when I lived in Arizona, we had a lovely backyard with a BBQ built into an outdoor kitchen island near the pool.  Amy, Tanner and Conner came to visit for Thanksgiving and I thought I’d give it a try.  It was fabulous. (I had to take photos of my pdf file - sorry)

 I’m also including Krispie Candy or Scotch-a-roos. 

  This is always a holiday treat.   ( I can't find a way to include a pdf file.)

In addition; I saved a recipe card Brian brought home from Primary for years because it was in Brian’s handwriting.  Finally I typed it up so I could share.

Carmel Popcorn (written to edit Brian’s version from 1978 in a Primary class)  IT IS REALLY GOOD!

Melt one cube butter

Add two cups brown sugar

Add ½ C Karo syrup

Bring all to good boil

Add:  ¼ t cream tartar and ½ t baking soda

Stir and pour all over popcorn 

Some of you may remember my Aunt Margaret and her husband Uncle Bill.  She passed away a few years ago.  Uncle Bill passed away yesterday morning. Now they can be together.

I'm doing great.  I just finished Little Jake's baby quilt (I'll be sending it off soon) and I'm working on another one that I've made before, but I love it.  So I'm make it again.

I love you all. Have a great week.

Love Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma, Sister and Aunt Suzanne