Back to Work...

July 18 (Monday)

Our 6 week break has come and gone. We've had a wonderful time visiting family and friends. And it's been a great relief to get out of the heat and humidity of Hong Kong. Today is our last day before heading back to work at the Temple. I stopped by to see Kelvin for an overdue lazer treatment on my hair. Then we had lunch at California Pizza. Home to relax before our final 16 weeks of our mission.


July 19 (Tuesday)

What a wonderful way to start our week. We gave an orientation to a group from South India. Most of them were coming for their first time to the Temple. Some were there to take out their own endowments and then to be sealed as a family. What a special occasion for all. Having been away for 6 weeks, I needed to do a quick review of initiatory. Amazing how quickly one forgets, but good thing it comes back quickly. There was also a group from Cambodia.

The Augustine Family

The Jala Jayaprakash Family

The 6 weeks the temple was closed was for renovations. However, I didn't notice any major changes. They said all the wall paper had been changed. I think the high humidity has something to do with that. I also heard that the workers had to be brought in from the US because they needed to be temple recommend holders in order to do the work in the temple, and HK didn't have any qualified wall paper people with temple recommends.

 
July 20 (Wednesday)

Now that we're back to work at the Temple, it feels like we've never even been away. By the time we walked home from the MTR we were ready to cool off with a dip in the pool. So thankful we have a pool here. It's like being in a spa.

McLaren - another one to add to John's collection.

July 21 (Thursday)

We stopped by Festival Walk, a huge shopping mall, on our way home. They had a huge display of Tsum Tsums, popular Japanese styled Disney characters. So cute! The place was packed! I think the adults enjoyed it more than the kids! You had to line up to get in to purchase any of the products.

It's all about marketing...

July 22 (Friday)

Sister Pu, a regular patron at the Temple was here again. She is so dedicated in doing temple work. She had a stack of initiatory to do and sometimes does 2-3 sessions a day. She rarely smiles, and I've always tried to acknowledge her to get a smile out of her. There was a Mandarin speaking patron that starting talking to me, and of course I had no idea what she was saying. So Sister Pu stepped in to help. She was so helpful and I could see how she brightened up when she was able to help this person with her genealogy. I'm so thankful for her and her willingness to be of service to others.


July 23 (Saturday)

What an exciting day for the Peacock and Chen families. Daniel Peacock and Ellen Chen had both served missions in Hong Kong. I was privileged to work with both of them when Wayne was here to do the Christmas concerts. They were the MC's. They both finished their missions, and the next thing I heard was that they were getting married!

I was privileged to take Daniel's sister, Sara Jayne, through the temple for her first time. To do initiatory and veil with her was a special experience. I met Daniel's family, and it was like I had known them forever. You know that feeling when you're instant friends. So thankful to be able to be a part of their special day. Daniel's little brother was also there to take out his endowments before heading out on a mission to Korea. Unfortunately, we were unable to catch them for photos since photos in the temple are not allowed.


July 24 (Sunday)

Sister Molina and Sister Bongo and Sister Lee (senior missionary), all spoke in sacrament meeting today. They gave excellent talks on conversion.

Sister Roberts has been helping me gather more stories from the sisters. Slowly, we're getting the interviews done. She's been a great help rounding up the sisters for me. Getting them to fill out their form is like pulling teeth.

It wasn't an eating week, but of course, Janet made a huge pot of macaroni soup for everyone.

Just Another Week

July 25 (Monday)

P-day. Started the day with a swim, then went shopping. John's former student Roger Mandel, his wife Val, and mother Sherry, were visiting Hong Kong and wanted to get together for dinner. We decided to go to Nomad's, but it didn't open till 6:30 and we had met up at 5:00. It was sweltering hot out, so we went to the YMCA for drinks and to cool off. I'm always a little shy about meeting with people I don't know, but they were all such great conversationalists! It was a great evening and we talked for 5 hours. Sherry lives in Lethbridge, so hopefully we will connect again once we get home.

Roger Mandel and John

 

Roger's wife Val and mother Sherry 

Great meal at Nomad's Mongolian Grill

July 26 (Tuesday)

Another special day at the Temple, Daniel and Ellen's wedding. I got assigned to be the 5th floor greeter. That's the floor the sealing rooms are on and where the wedding would occur. I was excited to be able to greet the guests and see both their families. What a beautiful couple and the both have wonderful families.


July 27 (Wednesday)

Happy Birthday Rylan and Aubrey! I'm so glad there's such a thing as FaceTime. Aubrey is Rylan's eldest daughter, born on his birthday. So special.

This week is missionary week. It looks like all the missionaries in the area will have a chance to attend the temple. Today I was excited when I saw Elder Love and was able to speak with him for a little bit. He said he had tried contacting us, but he had the wrong number. So I finally got his number and we will try to hook up for dinner soon. Elder Love was a member of the boy band, Beyond 5. The group has been close to the Burton Family and John is their unofficial chef. My granddaughter Azia has adopted them all as "her brothers".  4 out of the 5 guys are members of the church and all 4 are currently serving missions, Hong Kong, Texas, England, and Tonga.

John and I were both craving Burger King, so we stopped by on our way home. There's one in our MTR station...way too convenient. Went for a swim after, but I'm sure I didn't work off as many calories that I took in.


July 28 (Thursday)

Everyone who had been sick with that nasty flu seem to be well on the way to recovery. However, we got a call from John's sister, Linda, saying that their dad (Yeh Yeh) was not doing well. He's lost his appetite and is hardly eating. This is not a good sign. He is 93 years old, is almost deaf, and has very poor vision. Not much of a quality of life. We have his name on the prayer roll and prayer that he will hold on till we return.

Reverence in the Temple is very important. People are asked to please turn their cell phones off. However, today there were a couple instances when someone's cell phone went off, and the phone was locked in their locker, so no one could turn it off. It finally stopped ringing. Moments later, another person's device went off playing the Star Wars theme! This time it was coming from someone's backpack that was not in a locker, so we dug through the bag to turn it off. We thought we had it turned off on the ipad, but then it went off again. Back into the bag to find it was a phone going off. For the rest of the day, I had the Star Wars theme playing in my head!


July 29 (Friday)

Happy 44th Anniversary to us! Can't believe it's been that many years! So happy, so blessed to be married to this incredible man...together forever...sealed for time and eternity in the Holy House of the Lord.

Started the day with an early morning swim before going to the temple for the late shift. We didn't do anything to celebrate since we were working late. Maybe tomorrow we'll celebrate.


July 30 (Saturday)

I'm just not an early person, but we had the 7:45 shift today. The nice thing is that we finish at 2:00. Had to have a nap. Then we decided to go out for dinner at the Spaghetti House to celebrate our anniversary. We shared our meals. John ordered a seafood pasta and I ordered ribs. Yummy! The new Jason Bourne moving opened today but we decided not to go. We went home and found that The Bourne Legacy was on TV. We sure enjoy these series.

 July 31 (Sunday)

Elder and Sister Nielson spoke today. They work in the area office and are on a welfare mission. I got three more interviews done today. I only have 10 Sundays left to complete my project of compiling stories of the sisters of Pen 3. Janet was there cooking again even though it was a not meal Sunday. Today she made Hainan chicken, greens, and coconut rice.

Leaving Home...Heading Home

July 11 (Monday)

Thinking of my sister, Vivian today. It would have been her 74th birthday. Love you and miss you "Dee Dee".

Today we leave Lethbridge on our way back to Hong Kong with a quick stop in Vancouver. Gin picked us up at the airport. Had a wonderful seafood soup for dinner. We stopped by Tang's to pick up Vic's car which we always borrow while in Vancouver so we can get around.


July 12 (Tuesday)

What a wonderful treat...today started off with meeting Nora Chan and Gaylon and MaryAnn Ball for breakfast. It was quite co-incidental that we all were in Vancouver on the same day. So good to touch base with fellow temple missionary friends.

 After breakfast, we headed over to Richmond to take John's mom and dad out for lunch. Food was OK, but the service was horrible. We had ordered 5 dishes. 3 came within a reasonable time. Then we waited, and waited, and waited for the rest of our meal. John finally had to flag down a server to see what was taking so long. Apparently, they had forgotten or something. Then we waited more. By that time, we were pretty fed up so we told them just to pack it up and we would take it to go. Then we waited for the bill. I paid the bill. Then the cashier called me back and said I hadn't paid enough. I had paid cash. She said that the tip was not included. I said there is no tip. The service was terrible. She pointed to the bill where it was printed a suggested amount for a 15% tip or 20% tip. I said no way, and walked out. My policy: no service, no tip. Am I becoming a crusty old lady?

John's Mom

John's Dad

As our final meal with the family, we all went to our favorite 54th Street Restaurant. What a contrast to the place where we had had lunch. Excellent friendly service! Excellent food! Great management! And because of that, they got a healthy 20% tip.

Just some of the dishes we devoured.

John's Mom, his brother Steve, and Dad

My sister Ilona, her son Ryan, brother-in-law Keong Lai

My niece Jackie, brother-in-law Vic, sister Gin, and my Mom

US

Brother-in-law Victor Tang

My Mom May. John's Mom Lili

Part of our Vancouver Family

July 13 (Wednesday)

Our flight for Hong Kong wasn't until noon, so we had time for breakfast. Vic Tang, Gin & Vic, Mom and John and I had an early Chinese style breakfast. Yes, eating is all we seem to do. Then it was off to the airport for our long flight back to Hong Kong. We were on Korean Air, so we had a quick stop over in Seoul.

Korean Air - Humungo Plane

Shrimp Salad, Korean Chicken and Rice, Spice Cake, Real Cutlery

Better than peanuts and pop.

July 14 (Thursday)

Because we were heading east, we lost a day due to the time change. We arrived in Hong Kong Thursday evening around 10:30 pm HK time. It was a quick stop through customs because we already have our HK ID card, We basically just walked through. We had to stop for a photo shoot of Bruce Lee at the airport before catching a taxi back to our apartment. It felt good to be back.

John and his hero...

July 15 (Friday)

It was very late, or should I say very early, by the time we went to sleep. We slept off and on during the day to try to compensate for jet lag. I don't know how it happened, but I was awake the entire flight. That never happens. I usually fall asleep anywhere, any time in any moving vehicle. We went out to stock up of groceries.


July 16 (Saturday)

Realizing we only have less than 4 months left on our mission, and there are still places we want to visit, we took today to go to the Heritage Museum to see the Bruce Lee display. Bruce is like HK's national hero. After, we stopped by IKEA for lunch and bought some picture frames for John's temple pictures.

Needing to cool off and relax, we hit the pool. Ah, so nice.


July 17 (Sunday)

I had a poor sleep and woke up at 4:00 am. Guess I'm still a bit jet lagged. Back to our little branch, Pen 3. It was so good to be back to see all our sisters again. We were greeted by many hugs and kisses. Being the 3rd Sunday of the month, there was a branch dinner. Back to eating again.

Subway, Swinging, Sizzling and Singing

July 4 (Monday)

Happy 4th of July to all our American friends!

Our day started off with dentist appointments for John, myself and my Mom. Next stop was with our chiropractor, Dr. Sean McLeod. He's LDS, and we had a nice visit with him. His office is right next door to our Stake President's law office, so we stopped by there to say "Hi" to President MacLennan, and give him a brief report on our mission thus far.

Aubrey, Addie, and Rhome wanted to work at Subway, so after lunch, I took them to the back of the store so they could have a Subway experience, prepping, baking, and washing dishes.

Rhome, Aubrey, and Addie making cookies.

Panning Bread...

Aubrey prepping ham 

Addie Prepping Steak

Rhome washing dishes

Nothing like team work...

Future Subway Artists

My computer has been acting up for months, so I finally took it into Best Buy and had them check it over. Hope all the bugs are worked out now.

Molly made her fabulous meatballs and spaghetti for dinner, then we watched some of the home videos that Jasmine had consolidated onto a DVD. Such fun memories!


July 5 (Tuesday)

Happy 40th Birthday, Jasmine! As I reflect back 40 years and recall this delicate little baby girl entering our life, it's hard to imagine all the livin' and lovin' that's happened over the past 40 years. The old cliche, "Where has time gone?" is so fitting.

John had an appointment at radiology. We both had appointments with the optometrist. Mom had another appointment with the denturist. Jane left on a flight back to Victoria. We made a quick trip out to Coaldale to pick up Jasmine's birthday cake, by special order request a raspberry cream cake.

We decided to treat all the kids to "Get Air" a trampoline park.  John made chicken fried steaks with mashed potatoes and gravy for all the kids and Poi Poi for supper, one of the kids favorite meals.

With all the kids fed, all the adults went out for dinner at State and Maine to celebrate Jasmines's birthday. Poi Poi was happy to stay home with the kids since she cannot hear any of the conversation in a noisy restaurant.

July 6 (Wednesday)

The week passed by quickly and already it was time for Rylan's family to leave. The kids had a blast with all their cousins. It's so nice that they moved to Idaho from Arizona. I'm sure we'll see them more often.

Before they left, we all had one last family gathering at the cemetery to pay our respects to Gung Gung (grandpa, my Dad). He's been gone for 26 years already and we all still miss him so much, especially during family gatherings. Also paid our respects to other relatives and friends who have passed on.

My Dad's Gravestone

Melisa had one request from John before her and Sherry leave tomorrow. She wanted some sizzling go ba, Panda's famous dish, stir fry over deep fried rice...sizzle, crackle, and pop! Mmmm good! We rushed off after making the sizzling go ba since we had a party to attend with our empty nester friends and others.

July 7 (Thursday)

Happy Birthday, Cardiff! Taco in a bag for dinner, the first time I have ever experienced this. Again, a special order cake from Coaldale Bakery. Unfortunately, they spelled his name wrong. We all had a good laugh. I don't think Cardiff was too impressed, but he took it in good spirit.

Are you kidding me? CARDIFF!

The appointments continued as John and I had massage appointments. Mom had another appointment to adjust her dentures and we stopped by the audiologist to see if her hearing aids could be adjusted.


July 8 (Friday)

When the Goodman family came last week, Mike just drove them here, then he had to leave the next day. He was just put in as the 1st Counselor in the Bishopric and they were going to sustain him and set him apart that weekend. So the family stayed here and he returned today to pick them up and drive back on Saturday.

Jongee and Diana had gone down to Idaho to go hiking. Jongee has a goal of hiking the tallest trail in each of the 50 states. Completing Idaho checks off his 44th state! They returned today.

It was another beautiful day and we decided to clean the yard. Since Hannah and Mitch have put an offer on a house, so she will not be living in our house any more. I do miss my house and yard, especially during the summer.

We had everyone over for dinner, BBQ salmon and ribs. The girls all wanted to go to Ardene's since they had a clearance sale of 70% off! When we got back, Bari was there. He's become a permanent fixture these past couple weeks. He is a friend of Emmy and Azia from school. The kids love him and have adopted him as "Uncle Bari".

Said our good-byes to Goodman's since they were leaving first thing in the morning. Things are winding down.


July 9 (Saturday)

We took Mom, Jongee and Diana out to lunch at a Vietnamese Restaurant before they caught their flight back to Toronto. All the company is gone.

Subway sandwiches for Jongee & Diana for their long trip back to Toronto.

We took a little drive to look around some of the newer subdivisions on the south end of town. Our kids had suggested we move into that area. However, after looking around, I think we'll just stay where we are. Our house is small, but I'm feeling so comfortable in it and I love our neighborhood.

Time to clean house. Went to visit my good friend Rita Berlando. I sure miss this lovely lady.


July 10 (Sunday)

We attended Sacrament meeting in our home ward. Later in the afternoon, we went to visit Aunt Helen. She is looking very frail, but is keeping a positive attitude. She was thrilled when she received news that Uncle Jack (her husband) was being honoured on the wall of fame in the Army Museum.

Jasmine prepared our traditional roast beef dinner. This will probably be the last roast beef we will have until we return in November. The sister missionaries (sorry, I can't remember names) were also there for dinner, then they had a ukulele jam session.

Sunday Sing-a-long with the famous Wayne Burton.

Ukulele jam session - Azia, Sister Missionaries, Emmy

End of another week. 5 weeks gone. Only 1 week left out of our 6 week break. Mixed emotions, leaving home again, but anxious to see my sisters of Pen 3 and all our senior missionary friends.