Spring in Karlovac

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the trees are leafing, and the weather is gorgeous.. It is interesting because we hear from the locals that they think it's too hot for this time of year.  We think it is a perfect 23 C which is about 70 degrees back home.  We are also told to be prepared as the

Croatian riding lawn mower.

summers here are hot and humid.  We have air conditioning in our living room, but not in the bedroom.  Good thing we have two comfortable couches right under the air conditioner!  As we walk around Karlovac, we see the magnolia's blooming, and flowers everywhere.  EK planted some onion sets last week and I planted my flower boxes.  Last summer I saw beautiful trailing geraniums throughout the city in window boxes.   We found some flower plants at  Pevec and Ivana had some planters on the deck that we were able to use.  I also have a poinsettia from Christmas that is flourishing outside on the patio.  I have a green thumb in Croatia!

General Conference was this last weekend, and we watched most of it at the church.  We brought our tablets with earphones so we could listen to it in English. We stayed up Sunday night to watch the Sunday afternoon session at home. (several time zones away) We love General Conference weekend, as it is a time that we can listen to inspiring counsel and instruction from our church leaders.  When we prepare ourselves, we undoubtedly hear messages that seem to be just for us.  We are looking forward to our Liahona (Ensign) magazine next month, which includes all of the talks given at Conference.
https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng

Fresh eggs for our omelet

 One of EK's friends from English class told him about some back stretching exercises he should try. As I watched him demonstrate a few I told him to be careful as he was pulling himself up from a lying position.  It looked like he could strain his back.  I asked him where Toma had found these exercises and EK said, "Well, he thought of them on his own".   I reminded him that Toma is NOT a doctor and I am NOT his mother.  What can I do with this companion of mine?  If you have any suggestions, please comment below...

We are heading to Zadar this weekend, and will be able to see Elder and Sister Dever. They are the senior couple serving there and will be going home in July.  Sister Dever is an excellent cook, and I've tried out some of her recipes.  I started a mission cookbook, and I'm adding recipes from some of the senior couples.  There are quite a few good cooks here in the mission, including the Mission President's wife.  I have quite a collection of recipes and it continues to grow, thanks to their willingness to share.

Transfer announcements are tomorrow, and the actual transfers will take place next week.  We know that we will lose one of our Elders.  We love them both, so it will be hard either way.  Sister Higgens has arrived in Karlovac.  We have two sisters going home next week, so for now they are a threesome.  We all went bowling on P-day at a new bowling alley in Old Centar.  Bowling is different here.  The pins are on strings, so when the ball hits, they tend to flop over rather that fly around.  After your ball is thrown,  it's funny to see the pins being picked up and dangling on strings in the air, until the ones that were left are set back down.

We went to visit Anto Antolovič last week.  The Elders gave a lesson and then he showed us his fruit trees and garden.  He lives about 20 kilometers from Karlovac, and does not have a car.  The bus does not

Fields of flowers.

run on Sundays, so he is unable to come to church.  We are working on some creative solutions that may allow him to get in to Karlovac on Saturday, stay the night and go to church the next day before getting a ride home on Sunday afternoon.  That will have to be addressed in Branch Council.  He would be a great asset to our Branch!

The word of the week is:  proljeće (pro lee eh tsay) which means spring.  Don't forget to roll your "r".