A Visit to the Museum

- November 22, 2021

It has been so cold the past 2 weeks. The temperature has been about 3 degrees for a high and 8 or 9 below zero for the low. It hasn't been this cold in Anchorage since January 2020. I have loved the bright blue sky with the hoar frost and this ice prism we saw as we drove to work. We called it a "snow pillar" because it was snow, not rain ,and straight, not a bow. But ice prism (the weatherperson's word) is a good description too. It was interesting to see how far the snow blower shoots the snow off the sidewalk. This was a smaller plume of snow compared to others we have seen.

Since it is so cold we wanted to find something to do indoors for our P-day on Saturday. We went to the Anchorage Museum. They had an art exhibition on one floor. One piece reminded me of Scott. It had water dripping on drums to represent how climate change would affect what we hear (according to the description of the piece). I didn't really understand it.

Another display was made of multiple world globes. Instead of showing typical country maps, it showed things like land mass, worldwide companies, life expectancy, earth languages, fresh water maps, labor force distribution and over 40 other topics. It was interesting to see facts represented on globes.

Another floor had the culture of the native tribes in Alaska displayed. They showed clothing, jewelry, weapons, tools, and items used to live and survive in the cold. Some of the things I found interesting were a child's snow suit made of rabbit fur (extremely warm but you might lose your child in a snow storm), rabbit gloves, a halibut fishing hook, parkas made of sea lion intestine to make it waterproof, a parka with wolf and wolverine fur around the hood (very fluffy), a lynx tooth necklace, fish skin gloves, bracelets made with a sea lion snout, beaded jewelry (made with glass beads they traded for) and a decorated gun case. It was amazing to see the intricate needlework on some items. They used everything available to make what they needed, nothing was wasted.

The last floor was a children's discovery area. I enjoyed playing with the Aurora Borealis machine and the bubble machine. I couldn't take pictures of the northern lights machine because it took both hands and moved too fast. There were also displays about earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. It was a fun activity for senior citizens and kids.

With it being so cold and dark some of the missionaries are needing space heaters to help with heat and happy lights to help with "winter blues". We went to Wasilla to take some things to the missionaries there. It was lunch time and we had heard about a restaurant in Palmer called Alaska's Best Phillys. It was really good. I had a cheesesteak with steak, mushrooms, peppers, onions, asparagus, spinach, bacon, zucchini and feta cheese. Very original and delicious! We have started ordering things other than halibut and chips when we go out. Elder Robinson also liked Lucky Wishbone chicken. It has been in business since 1955. He said the chicken tasted just like the pan-fried chicken his grandma used to make. I am afraid we will be gaining a little weight. Like bears getting ready to hibernate with the winter cold!

Spiritual thought: I am happy for Thanksgiving this week. I watched again the video Pres. Nelson shared last year about the Healing Power of Gratitude (you can see it at powerofgratitude.org). It has been a long year with continuing to cope with the pandemic and social contention. I was grateful for his reassuring message of the importance of gratitude. I am reminded of what a blessing it has been to be able to serve a mission at this time. In spite of challenges, at the end of each day there is always something to be grateful for. We are so blessed with family and friends who encourage and inspire us. We are grateful for the beauties of nature we see each day; the blessings of health and safety, a warm home and comforts of life. Our greatest blessing has been to come closer to God and gain a deeper testimony of gospel truths through prayer, scriptures, words of a living prophet and our experiences here. I have a quote in my office that says, "It is not joy that makes us grateful but gratitude that makes us joyful". I think it is a circular relationship between joy and gratitude that helps us feel greater love for God and his blessings. I hope that during this time of Thanksgiving celebration you will take some time to listen to Pres. Nelson's video or find something to remind you of the power of gratitude in your life. There is so much to be grateful for!

I was so happy to see that Lisa and Lindsey went with David to Phoenix to see Millie run in a track meet with her school. They were able to visit with a lot of family members on their trip. What a fun road trip! Brothers and sisters, Grandma Robinson, aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides of the family--Yay for family!