Choose the Right

Today in Primary, the younger children all came into singing/sharing time with their new CTR rings.  They were proudly showing them off to the older children and to other adults. 

In Primary this year, the theme for sharing time presentations is Choose the Right.  The music we are learning is all about choosing the right.  This concept is so important.  Children and adults, every day, have to make choices.  We are hopefully preparing and teaching the children through words and music the value of making wise choices. 

We come to this earth with agency.  We can make choices that will affect our entire lives and eternity for good or bad.  With prayer and reliance on the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we can be more effective in choosing wisely.

The new song we are learning this year for the Sacrament Meeting Program teaches about making choices:

I came to earth with power to choose.
Good choices bless me and my family too.
As a child of God I receive special light
The Holy Ghost helps me to know what is right.

We are happy when we make good choices and we suffer the consequences of poor choices.  Because our Heavenly Father loves us, we can be forgiven of our incorrect choices through repentance, a wonderful gift the Savior made possible through his Atonement.  I am grateful for my Savior. I know that learning to make correct and wise choices is vital to our eternal lives.

This has been another busy week.  The viruses are still wrecking havoc on our mission.  I think it is beginning to improve but I still get at least one or two, and often more, new cases of the cold or stomach virus every day along with the usual sprains and bruises and other aches and ailments. 

Tuesday I went to Brooklyn and while there I had lunch with Sisters Cate and Figaro.

New bridge being constructed on way to Brooklyn. I like the cable spans.

I helped the sister training leaders with dinner that night.

Sisters Bush, Maldonado, Staker, Eckardt

Wednesday I accompanied some sisters to Manhattan for an appointment.  For a late lunch we chose Greek gyros.  Yummm!

Sisters Johnston and Steninger

Gyro

Thursday was another trip to Manhattan and then I met the STL and two others for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  The portion sizes at that restaurant are ginormous.  I ordered off the Skinnylicious menu thinking to save a few calories.  The Asian chicken salad was more than I could eat even if it was purported to be "Skinnylicious."

Sisters Bush, Staker, Albanese, and Gourley

Giant sized salad

Cheesecake selections we shared

Friday I needed to go to Flushing so since I was in the neighborhood, I picked up the Korean sisters and we went to a Thai restaurant in Bayside.  The salad there was a work of art.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, The French Artisan Bakery Workshop is just a few blocks from the restaurant.  I couldn't be that close to a Duke and not get one.  The bakery owner was there touting the new line of cheesecakes. We had free samples of the Oreo Cheesecake and it was good.  I bought a piece of cheesecake and a Duke. I brought them home and shared them with two elders so I am calling it a "reduced calorie" Duke/cheesecake.

Work of art salad with Thai peanut dressing

Sisters Kim, Yu, and Hilliard in the French Workshop

The Duke and Cheesecake

Saturday Sister Reynolds, mission president's wife, asked me to go with her to take an elder to the airport.  After we dropped him off she invited me to lunch at Olive Garden.  I had pasta e fagioli soup and salad.  That evening Sister and Elder Williams invited me to dinner at the Outback.  I had a chicken salad.  I must be in a rut!!  Salad.  Salad. And more salad.

Sunday for dinner I made taco salad and rice pudding for dessert.  I made enough rice pudding for an army so I invited the missionaries in the English district to stop by on their way home for pudding.  They had an impromptu district meeting and spent 15 minutes planning a district activity for preparation day tomorrow.  They are having root beer floats at the church at 1:00.  It took 15 minutes to plan this activity because no one could decide who would bring what and how much.  It made me laugh.  I think they were having way too much fun!!!

Sister Dos Santos, Elder Reese, Sister Talaboc, Elders Asplund, Peters, Christie

It is always wonderful to hear from family and friends.  I appreciate your love and support.  I very much enjoy my work here and I love living in New York but I do miss my home and family in Utah including the snow!!!

I love you my family and friends.

It seems there are a lot of dogs on the upper east side of Manhattan. It is common to frequently
see dog walkers walking their charges.  I like the pants on the poodle. Red coat and black pants.

I saw star fruit at the grocery store when I went shopping Saturday. I had not tried them so
I bought a couple for Sunday dinner. I like them.

I saw this on a missionary's post. I like the contrasts. This is the Manhattan Bridge

Carambola or starfruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles.

The fruit is popular throughout Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, and parts of East Asia. The tree is also cultivated throughout non-indigenous tropical areas, such as in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the southern United States.

The fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually five but can sometimes vary); when cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, hence its name. The entire fruit is edible and is usually eaten out of hand. They may also be used in cooking and can be made into relishes, preserves, and juice drinks.

Origins and distribution

Sliced carambolas having 7, 6, and the usual 5 points

The original range of Averrhoa carambola is unknown today. It is believed that it may have originated from Sri Lanka or Moluccas, Indonesia, but has been cultivated in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. They remain a local favorite in those areas but have also recently gained popularity in parts of East Asia and Queensland, Australia; as well as in the Pacific Islands, particularly Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and Guam. They are cultivated commercially in India, Southeast Asia, southern China, Taiwan, and Florida. They are also grown in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Mexico, Guyana and parts of Africa. In other areas they are usually grown as ornamentals, rather than for consumption.

 

Description

The fruit is about 2 to 6 inches in length and is an oval shape. It usually has five prominent longitudinal ridges, but in rare instances it can have as few as four or as many as eight. In cross section, it resembles a star. The skin is thin, smooth, and waxy and turns a light to dark yellow when ripe. The flesh is translucent and light yellow to yellow in color. Each fruit can have 10 to 12 flat light brown seeds about 0.25 to 0.5 in in width and enclosed in gelatinous aril. Once removed from the fruit, they lose viability within a few days.

Like the closely related bilimbi, there are two main types of carambola: the small sour (or tart) type and the larger sweet type. The sour varieties have a higher oxalic acid content than the sweet type. 

Gastronomy

Vertical, end view, and cross section of the ripe carambola

Carambola, (starfruit), raw

The entire fruit is edible, including the slightly waxy skin. The flesh is crunchy, firm, and extremely juicy. It does not contain fibers and has a texture similar in consistency to that of grapes. Carambolas are best consumed shortly after they ripen, when they are yellow with a light shade of green or just after all traces of green have disappeared. They will also have brown ridges at the edges and feel firm. Fruits picked while still slightly green will turn yellow in storage at room temperature, but will not increase in sugar content. Overripe carambola will be yellow with brown spots and can become blander in taste and soggier in consistency.

Ripe sweet type carambolas are sweet without being overwhelming as they rarely have more than 4% sugar content. They have a tart, sour undertone, and an oxalic acid odor. The taste is difficult to compare, but it has been compared to a mix of apple, pear, grape, and citrus family fruits. Unripe starfruits are firmer and sour, and taste like green apples. 

Ripe carambolas may also be used in cooking. In Southeast Asia, they are usually stewed in cloves and sugar, sometimes with apples. In China, they are cooked with fish. In Australia, they may be c

Unripe and sour type carambolas can be mixed with other chopped spices to make relishes in Australia. In the Philippines, unripe carambolas are eaten dipped in rock salt. In Thailand, they are cooked together with shrimp. 

The juice from carambolas is also used in iced drinks, particularly the juice of the sour varieties. In Hawaii they are used to make sherbet, while in the Philippines they can be used as seasoning. In India, the juice is bottled for drinking.

There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today

There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today.  I woke up this morning to a beautiful, sunny day and found myself singing this song.   We live in a glorious world.  What a wonderful gift from our Savior and Father in Heaven!!

1.   There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

(Chorus)
Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine
When the peaceful happy moments roll.
When Jesus shows his smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

2.    There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King,
And Jesus listening can hear
The songs I cannot sing.

3.    There is springtime in my soul today,
For when the Lord is near,
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flow'rs of grace appear.

4.    There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope and praise and love,
For blessings which he gives me now,
For joys "laid up" above.

It doesn't matter the season, the temperature, nor the dark sky if the light of Christ shines in our souls.  We can be grateful and happy for everything we have as it all comes from the Lord.

This reminded me of a favorite talk given by President Uchtdorf in October 2015 general conference.  A good portion of his talk is this story, Great-Aunt Rose, which I enjoyed and love. (The story begins at 1:42).





This story touched me when I heard President Uchtdorf tell it in his conference address and it touches me today.  We can make a choice to be happy.  We can make a choice to be the best we can be.  We can make a choice to make Jesus Christ the center of our lives and thereby find true happiness.

This has been another busy, BUSY week.  It seems I spend much of my day at my desk texting and talking.  One morning I realized I got up, got to the computer to answer a question that came as a call, and 45 minutes later realized I hadn't eaten, studied my scriptures, exercised nor taken a shower and I still had a list of things that should have been done 20 minutes ago!!  Not complaining.  Just telling you how I came up with my newest exercise routine.

After sitting at the computer for so long, I began to think of the exercise I wasn't getting.  I decided that while I am talking on the phone, I really don't always have to be in front of the screen so I began to walk from my front windows to my bed and back and forth.  I should count the steps one way, but let me tell you, one call when I was discussing some things with the area medical advisor, our call lasted 1897 steps.  Now I look at my calls in steps rather than minutes.  Another day I had 2739 steps before I even left the house to go to lunch with some sisters.  I'm going to patent this idea.

Tuesday was temple day for some of the missionaries so as you already know, I have the joy of spending the day with the companions of the sisters if they choose to come to my apartment. We had lunch and played Monopoly Deal. (So you see, not every minute/step is spent working.)

Tuesday was preparation day so all of these sisters were writing family and friends.

Sisters Tarnasky, Figaro, Fields, Johnston, Panoussi. Lunch at Pio Pio (Peruvian food)

Thursday I had lunch with Elder and Sister Lilly and Sister Albanese.  They came to the office to do some work and for an appointment.

Friday was Sister Bush's birthday.  The district tricked her into a surprise party at the church.  Sister Bush is from Hawaii so it was a Hawaiian themed party.  Then on Saturday, we went to Olive Garden for lunch for a continued celebration.

Sisters Bush and Staker

Hawaiian pizza

The Spanish speaking district

On our way to Olive Garden

Sunday is always a great day.  Our Primary is larger now that the boundaries have been changed.  I believe we had close to 30 children attend Sunday so our size has doubled.  I am trying to teach them a new song.  They are usually good to learn but they were off the walls on Sunday.  That is a challenge to get them to participate when the air is charged with electricity.  I love them anyway!

Sunday dinners are a treat for me.  Elder Peters will be going home on the 24th for so the English speaking elders came this Sunday.  I have decided I don't have room for all of them every Sunday so I will alternate the English and Spanish speaking elders.  The sisters are here every week along with the Williams.

Elder Reese, Elder and Sister Williams, Sisters Dos Santos, Staker, Bush, and Talaboc,
Elders Asplund, Peters, and Christie.

Elder Peters with his fingers in the air said the blessing on the food in his native language: Dutch.
He will be going home to the Netherlands and he is trying to remember how to speak his language
so he practiced on us. I love it!!

One of the sister training leaders asked me if I ever get stressed or anxious.  I replied that it rarely happens.  She asked what I do to keep from getting that way.  I told her that I cook.  Cooking and baking are my go-to fun things to do.  I get a lot of pleasure from making food and feeding people.  It makes me happy.

I pray that you will have happiness in your life. I testify that by following the teachings of Jesus Christ and trying to live a Christ centered life will always bring happiness even through trials.

I love you my family and friends.

The elders like to come test their blood pressure with my wrist
sphygmomanometer.  Boys and toys...

Elders Christie and Reese