How to eat a TimTam.........

Blog for  March 12, 2017

How to eat a TimTam………

It has been a cold, cold week but filled with interesting things to do. Let’s start with how to eat a TimTam. We had heard of these cookies but had not tried them until some were given to us. TimTam’s are unique to Canada and so is the way you eat them. First you need hot chocolate, then you take a TimTam cookie and you bite off a small part on each end. Next you put one end in your mouth and the other end in the hot chocolate and suck the hot chocolate up into and through the cookie. The cookie soaks up the hot chocolate and you quickly but the cookie into your mouth and enjoy the rich chocolate taste. Yum! My own discovery - the cookies are good even if you don’t have any hot chocolate.

 

During the week we received some additional Toyota RAV 4s. Next week we will receive a few more and that should be all for awhile.

The week saw a few more missionary accidents. Subzero cold (Farenheitk) and snow do not make for safe driving conditions. We are, however, to have a major Chinook during the coming week and temperatures will be well above normal. That should take care of the snow and slick roads, I hope. After all, it is mid-March. We were certainly spoiled by the mild winter we enjoyed last year.

We learned during the week that a senior missionary couple is indeed headed our way and will eventually replace us in the office, but (isn’t there always a “but”?) they are to arrive about a month after we are scheduled to depart. We are hoping they might be able to come two weeks earlier and if so, we could remain in place for two more weeks in order to allow some overlap and some local training. Senior couples receive great training in the MTC but it does not fully prepare them for how things are done locally.

Last evening, together with Elder and Sister Peppinger, we were invited to spend the evening with a senior couple serving here in Calgary, Elder and Sister Wong. They are MLS (member-leadership support) missionaries and are working with the Mandarin Branch. They are Chinese and are from the Salt Lake Valley as well. Sister Wong prepared a number of Chinese dishes for us and I can safely say, what she prepared proved to be the best Chinese food I have ever eaten! We also had a mixed fruit plate, brought by the Peppingers, and I made a chocolate cheesecake, which was also well received. We visited and had a great time. The Wongs are doing a wonderful job; they are teaching English classes, Sister Wong is teaching sewing, but most of their time is spent visiting the Chinese members of the Church and encouraging greater activity and participation. The young Chinese-speaking missionaries are so grateful to also have a senior couple serving here.

Saturdays are our P-days and after our apartment cleaning and preparations for the coming week, Kathy and I try to get out and see things we haven’t yet tried or seen. We have mentioned earlier visits to the nearby Heritage Park where we have season tickets. One of the buildings at the Park is called Gasoline Alley and it is filled on two levels with antique cars. We have put off going there as it remains open all year and we wanted to see everything else first as the rest of the Park closes for the winter. We knew by reputation that is wonderful, and so it was. I have seen a number of museums displaying antique cars but this is the very best. I will share a number of photos below but it barely scratches the surface for what there is there to see.

One of my favorites - a 1931 L-29 Cord with front wheel drive. Only $3,000 back in the day when a Ford Model A was $300. Needless to say, not many of them were sold at that price, and then there was the Depression going on. Cord Motor Company did not survive. 

A 1932 Auburn. This was a V-12 cylinder vehicle and it sold for less than $1,000, but the Auburn Motor Company did not survive the Depression years. 

Early Mack and Benz trucks. 

A 1912 Buick delivery truck

A Depression era car which some families lived in for a time. This is a 1930 Nash Sedan.
Note the mattress and bed frame on top. The back end of the car had a chuck wagon box where the family kept their eating and food preparation items.

A Ford Model T truck. One of these used to sit rusting at my grandmother's when I was a kid. How I wish I had had the means and the foresight as a young boy to have bought it from her with the plan to restore it.

This was my favorite car. It is a 1905 Cadillac Model E. It looks like something a prospector or farmer would have used to do the dirty work around the place. 

This is a 1918 International Truck. Because of the engine cover design, it was known as a "coffin nose".  

Most of the cars displayed are from a private restoration effort funded by a local businessman, Ron Carey. All of the cars and trucks are in running condition and are lovingly maintained by a crew of volunteers.

This was a favorite as well. It was a car for the very rich. The driver would sit up front and the passengers in the back surrounded by rich wood and upholstery. 

The collection also contains many unique gasoline pumps and many products and sinage from a host of petroleum companies.   

This gas pump was an all in one pump. The gasoline would be pumped up into the glass cylinder on top and then released down the hose to the car. This pump is unique in that it also had the oil, water, and air available in the same unit. 

   

And last, but not least, this was a display you could sit in - a stripped out 1952 Chevrolet with bench seats - a great vehicle to take one's date to a drive-in theater.  

 

Have a great week!