Just Another Great Sunday

Sister Alyssa True

Like the title says, it was just another great Sunday. God created the sabbath for man and I'm grateful he did because it is frequently the very best day of the week. Today started strong with a visit to my friend Tom Edmonds at Masonic Village. He wasn't feeling well so I told him we'd come back after church to give him a blessing. Then we arrived at church on time, even though there was some misinformation about what time church started on the new schedule. We stayed at 10:30am, which is just fine with me. Fast and Testimony meeting was great, highlighted by the testimony of a new member, Sister Alyssa True, who powerfully witnessed how it is we are able to "know" through the power of the Holy Ghost and how difficult it is for those without the gift of the Holy Ghost to understand how we can know. It was stirring, along with several other testimonies right at the end of the meeting. Next, the curriculum for 2008 is Book of Mormon so teaching Sunday School this year is the greatest. We had a wonderful class full of testimony about the truthfulness of the book. Well, we invited Alyssa and the Ellsworths home for dinner. As it turned out, they know each other because Alyssa's older brother took Sharon Ellsworth to senior prom at Donegal High School (they were the two dressed in duct tape suit and gown). So it was fun for them to catch up.

Del Ellsworth

It is wonderful to have Del and Mary Lou over. They are a joy to be around and are always willing to discuss fun and searching topics. Del pitched in to cut the roast because Rodger had disappeared to take pictures.

Mary Lou Ellsworth

We are looking forward to a slide show from the Ellsworth's mission to Chile as soon as it is ready. We can't wait to hear and see the stories about the ship wreck that occurred post-mission.

On the way home from church, standing next to the pond by the Christmas Tree Farm was a great blue heron. Of course, Rodger dropped everyone off at home, grabbed his camera and went back for a picture. Just as he exited his car by the pond the heron flew away without a single picture. Well, I was out and about and had my camera, so it shouldn't go to waste. The light was quite nice, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon, so the sun was already low in the winter sky and there were scattered clouds. Driving along Ridge Road I noticed the back side of this farm, which is the same farm in my ice storm pictures. It always surprises me just how beautiful it can be in Pennsylvania at any time of the year. Jeanne wished out loud the other day that Pennsylvania were eight states to the west so we could live here and still be close to family. In any case, I drove to the end of a little Cul-de-sac and got a great shot of the farm.
Also with me at the end of the Cul-de-sac was "Kippy," a new breed of dog, a cross between a Pug and a Jack Russell Terrier. I ask the owner if the idea was to get the more relaxed temperment of a Pug with the size and cutness of a Jack Russell. He said that was the idea but it didn't work with Kippy. She was just as crazy as most Jack Russells. She did pose quite nicely, however.
After leaving the farm scene I traveled to the college and found that winter light can be beautiful, if not particularly colorful. The next few pictures are examples of cold, gray light that turns into attractive photographs (I think). Above is the low winter sun reflected in the college pond.
The pond was partially frozen and I found the contrasting reflections between frozen and liquid to be fascinating and fun to look at. It also lent to the feeling of cold along with the winter light.
The contrast of the "upside down" reflection of the chapel steeple, pointing downward and the cat tails reaching upward lent itself to an interesting picture, sort of a "yin and yang" thing or the "opposition in all things" concept. It seemed fun to look at. Hope you enjoy it.