May 6, 2011

Elder and Sister Blattman’s Missionary Weekly Journal
May 6, 2011

We are overcome with the beauty of this country in the springtime. It’s a wonderful place to visit. The flowering trees have lost their blossoms now and the sidewalks are carpeted in places with pink and white petals that scatter in our footsteps like the flakes of snow in winter. The greens are bright, with almost none of the grey, tan, or brown that we are so used to seeing. Each morning we walk for an hour along the neighborhood streets and admire the azaleas with vibrant hues of red, purple, and white. Stone retaining walls along the tree shaded sidewalks are covered with mosses and little flowers. The dogwood trees are blooming in bright whites and pinks right now. Homeowners and crews of gardeners care for the yards. It’s unusual to find any home not well kept. Our exercise is much more pleasant nowadays than puffing on the stationary machines in the basement while watching Korean News on the TV wall-screens.
Yard sales are a great temptation to one of us. Elder Blattman picked up a mint condition monkey wrench for 25 cents last week and the seller threw in a nice metal tool box with two pipe wrenches and a turn of the century screwdriver. We may have to rent a U-Haul trailer to get our treasures home. We keep our eye out for unusual stores. Dan and I went in one in downtown Philly that was full of African fertility idols – stacked floor to ceiling with the most hideous (they are supposed to be grotesque to frighten away evil spirits) wooden carvings that anyone could imagine. The man wanted to sell us the whole store. These things are incredibly valuable according to him. It was hard to imagine why anyone would want to display in their homes things so bizarre and repulsive. This week we found a little store operated by a retired psychology professor which was full of odd items retrieved from estate sales. Again, it was difficult to tell if we were in a museum or a store, but we opted for the store and purchased an old glass inkwell/paper weight with an old brass pen. –One more irresistible pound to pack in the car when we go home. While looking in a thrift store for ‘anticipatory sets’, or object lessons as most people call them, we noticed there were a number of if not antique, at least classic, furniture sets that would be fun to restore. Elder B. again was drooling over these trying to conjure ways to tie them onto the car to get them home and into the shop. What for? Just say the word anyone and he’d love to be your purchasing agent. You may have to arrange for shipping.
Next week we are taking the Frazier sisters on a trip with one of our classes to Harmony, Pennsylvania. It’s a long way but still in our mission and there is little to actually see at the site, but it is the nature of visitors like us to an area to go around and try to experience everything. Perhaps we’ll have more photos to share.