Aftermath of Nova Scotia Storm

The wind blew, six inches of snow came down and it has been raining for several hours.

Bob is shoveling the snow in the rain.

Christmas in Dartmouth

Monday evening Bob wasn't feeling well but I went to Nathan and Tara's for Family Home Evening and we dipped chocolates - at least Tara dipped the chocolates and Liam and I rolled.  As usual they were delicious.

Tuesday Bob and I went to Micmac mall and I got a haircut.  Wednesday and Thursday we were at the Temple.

Friday we went to Nathan's a bit before noon and stayed until this evening.  We had Christmas dinner on Christmas eve.  Today we opened presents, ate, slept, ate, talked to family, ate, and everyone but me went out for a walk.

Dec. 13 to Dec. 19

We had a busy week.  We did some of our home teaching, did some shopping, went to a High Priests party and, of course, spent our regular four days in the Temple.  I was able to get Christmas Cake made.

We had every kind of weather - wind, rain and snow.  It snowed all day Friday and when we were leaving for the Temple on Saturday morning the roads were very slippery - in fact we couldn't get out of our driveway.  Our driveway is sloping - doesn't look like it in the picture but it is.  Luckily, our daughter-in-law, Julie, had given Bob some traction things to put under the tires, so with the help of those we got out.

Today it is still cold, but the sky is a beautiful blue.  Below is a picture of the Temple; I took it at noon today.

Change of Picture

No more Atlantic scene.

Wind in Dartmouth

Last week was a busy week.  With zone conference and the Ward Christmas party on top of our regular temple duties, somehow the week seemed long.

We had some snow overnight Thursday and we had a bit of cold weather.  The snow melted by noon.  Again on Saturday it snowed but it was followed by rain and the snow didn't stay around.  On Sunday morning our car was totally covered in ice.  Bob tried to capture the snow in the following photos.

Our Back Yard

Ice Around the Edge of the Lake

Snow on the Shed

Geese Standing on the Ice at the Edge of the Lake

Today was garbage day so we again had wind, but not as much as last Monday.  I looked out the window and Bob's hair and coat were flapping in the wind, but by the time I got my camera out it was between gusts.

It was ten above this morning.  All the ice around the lake is melted.

Wonderful Surprise

As we left zone conference yesterday the mission office manager handed us a packet of letters.  It contained the latest issue of the Ensign magazine, some small envelopes and a big brown envelope.  I dropped it on the bed and didn't think anymore about it until we were ready to go to the temple.  While waiting for Bob, I decided to open the letters.  The big brown envelope had letters from my children and grandchildren.  I was so surprised and overwhelmed.  It was wonderful.  I don't know how it was arranged but I couldn't have received anything that pleased me more.  When I think back, I think that maybe Keaton tried to tell me about a week or so ago but his mother shushed him.  Thank you all.

Sue-anne is the Winner

It finally arrived.  This morning we picked up our car and dropped off the mission car.  Then we drove to Halifax for the first time.  We had zone conference at the Halifax Chapel.  Now we are having fun finding out what we had in the car.

 

End of Week Two

Our second week in Dartmouth has ended.  On Monday we did housecleaning and shopping.  Tuesday we went and helped Tara get some fruit ready for the Relief Society Party.  I went to the party in the evening.  Wednesday we were at the Temple in the morning and in the evening Bob got a haircut and we dropped in at Nathan and Tara's.  The boys were at their bagpipe and drum lessons and brought their report cards home and Nathan had bought them a box of donuts.

Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday morning we were at the Temple.  We stayed with Orson, Liam, Keaton and Lochlan in the evening while Tara and Nathan went to the Imperial Oil Christmas party.

There was Church today and after we spent most of the day at Nathan and Tara's. 

It rained much of the week, but today the sun came out.  However there is a storm warning for tonight.  Winds will be up to 90 ks per hour.

Honda Update

Our car is now in Barrie, Ontario.  It is supposed to be loaded on a truck for the Maritimes tonight and it will depend on how many stops the truck has along the way how long it will take to get here.  We could start a pool on how long it will take.

Blue Sky Today

Today is the first day that we have seen blue sky other then just a few glimpses.  The sky was blue when we went to church and is still blue.

Larry and Marge Heppler moved in with us last Monday.  We made a few changes.  The TV room is now a bedroom which works better for both of us.  The second bedroom wasn't very roomy and the bed took up most of the space.

We did family home evening with Nathan and Tara on Monday night and then Nathan, Orson and Liam came over and helped move the bed downstairs and helped take off one of the box springs from our bed as it was too high for us.  The Temple President and his wife had us over for supper on Tuesday evening.  Thursday we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Mission President's home.

We worked at the Temple on Wednesday through Saturday.  There were baptismal sessions on Thursday and Saturday.  I spent a lot of time doing laundry.  After the last session we helped clean the Temple.

Last night we had a teaching appointment with a lady. We had trouble finding the house and by mistake went over the toll bridge and had to turn around and come back so it cost us $1.50.

Today we had church.  Tara stayed home with Lochlan because he had a bad cough.  We drove the boys home and had lunch with Tara and Nathan.

Larry, Marge and Bob

Views from our deck

A Few Pictures of our Rental

Glass Countertop and Sink

Good News

We received a call from the car transport company and our car is somewhere near Toronto.  We should have it in a week or so.

from Lehi to Nova Scotia

Darwin dropped us at the Salt Lake airport shortly after seven on Friday morning.  We had a four hour layover in Detroit and then on to Halifax.  Although we didn't know at the time we had an exciting landing in Halifax.  The fellow in front us wondered why we had gone over the Halifax airport twice and thought something must be wrong but decided maybe there was just too much traffic.  On the third passover, we landed just fine but were greeted with firetrucks and emergency vehicles with their lights flashing.  When we got stopped the pilot announced that the flap on the right wing wouldn't move on the first two passes but worked fine the third time.

Nathan, Keaton, Orson and Liam were there to greet us after we waited a half hour for the luggage to come in.  We have been staying at Nathan's for the weekend.

Saturday morning we were in the Temple for a couple of hours.  The couple we are replacing instructed us on some of our duties.

In the afternoon we went and inspected our housing.  We will be moving in on Monday.

We have been loaned a car from the mission until we are able to make arrangements to get our car here.

We attended the Dartmouth Ward this morning.  It was the Primary Presentation. Linda Broadhead from Welling was visiting in the ward today

Tara has been making a Christmas Quilt.

Nova Scotia Tomorrow

We spent the last four days at the Provo Temple.  We learned about such things  as the Engineering System, the recording system, the laundry system and how to handle medical emergencies.  Even so it was a spiritual four days.  We had great leaders and a good group to train with.  Unfortunately I had a bad cold and wasn't able to concentrate too well.

The last couple of days were sunny and when we arrived at the temple in the morning, the sun was shining on Mount Timpanogos and it was very pretty.

For those of you who know Sylvia Taylor, she was at the temple entrance to greet us this morning.

Amber picked us up this afternoon and now we are at Darwin's and he will drop us at the airport on his was to work tomorrow..

We hadn't heard where our car was so this afternoon Bob phoned Lethbridge and the Kar AutoTransport company had not picked it up.  They won't answer our calls, so we don't know what is happening.  I don't recommend using that company.

Christmas Lights - and its not even Thanksgiving

Darwin and Caden took advantage of a cool day with a brisk wind to get up the Christmas lights.

End of One Week

Here is the building that we are staying in.  Our room is on the second floor, but the window is covered by the heavy equipment that is being used to put on an addition to the building.  Bob thinks that when they finish the new part they will tear down the old part and put up a new luxurious part to the addition that is being built now.


We have finished our first week and Amber picked us up after class on Friday and we are staying here in Lehi until Sunday evening.


Next week will be spent at the Provo Temple.


Last night we went to a Relief Society activity that Amber was involved with.  We heard Gary and Joy Lundberg talk about improving family relations.  Gary is a licensed marriage and family therapist.  They were very entertaining and had some good ideas.  I thought of Liam because there was a chocolate fountain at refreshment time. The chocolate was delicious and the strawberries, pineapple, cream puffs, and various other goodies for dipping were great.

Two Down - Seven to Go

We have survived two days.  We are getting to feel a little more comfortable.  Yesterday when we lined up to register we were so surprised to have Elwin and Shirley Davis in front of us.  They were part of the China Teachers Program the year we were in China.  Actually they were on the same flight from Vancouver to Beijing as we were when we went to China and both Elwin and Bob had a suitcase that didn't turn up for a while.  They were the only people we knew the first day.  We have been divided into districts and we are with four other couples so we are starting to know a few of the Senior couples.

Still no cheesecake.

I am dreading tomorrow.  We have to teach a lesson on the restoration to someone and we will be videoed and critiqued.

Every Tuesday evening there is a devotional.  Tonight Elder and Sister Bednar talked.  He taught about the difference between doctrine (truths), principles (guidelines)  and applications and stressed teaching doctrine.  The MTC choir sang a beautiful number.  There must have been 500 in the choir - perhaps even more.

Bob went to the IT office today and got the information to log into the secure internet and now we have Skype and also facebook (which we don't use anyway).

We had a few snow showers today.

Just for Margaret

This morning it was pouring rain when we entered the MTC and it has rained all day.  It wasn't such a daunting experience as I was expecting.  We can use computers and cell phones, although not around the young elders and sisters because they don't have the same privileges that we have. I think some sites such as face book and Skype are blocked.  We can come and go as we please as long as we turn up at our classes.
There is not a schedule for getting up in the morning.

There is a great variety of food, but I didn't see the cheesecake Edward told me about.  They did have donuts both at lunch and supper.

 Dresser and Closets

(Wall Reflected in the Mirror)

 We have a Desk

 The Ensuite

View from our Window

(a lot of construction around)

Lehi Weekend

Here it is - the night before we go into the MTC.  We left Lethbridge Thursday about one p.m.  The lines for customs and security were about one tenth the size they were the week before when we went to Portland so we had a long wait between flights, especially since our flight was late leaving Calgary.  We arrived in Salt Lake about seven p.m..  Darwin, Chloe and Owen picked us up.

On Saturday Darwin, Bob and the children went to the BYU football game where BYU won 55 to 7.

We had a quiet week-end which we wish could last longer.

Another Farewell

Well tonight is our last night in Lethbridge for a couple of years and we had another sad farewell.  The Mosers came in after school.  We went to LCI to watch Courtney play volleyball.  Here she is after an awesome serve.

After volleyball we headed to OSho for supper.

One Last Fling

 A year or so ago I decided that I would go to the Jane Austen conference that was planned for Portland.  However, when we had to leave Lethbridge early in November, I thought that I couldn't fit it in.  Bob kept saying that there was no reason not to go, so we left Thursday, October 28th to go to Portland.  We booked a direct flight from Calgary and it took about 5 hours from Lethbridge via Calgary to Portland.

We took the rapid transit (MAX) from the airport to close to our hotel, The Hilton Executive, and I couldn't help but compare it to the rapid transit in Nanjing.  The MAX was much less roomy and had inconvenient stairs inside each car

Views from our hotel room:

John, Maggie and Cat drove from Astoria to visit us and we went out for Japanese food.  The visit was all too short.

The theme of the conference was Northanger Abbey.  Although Northanger Abbey isn't my favorite JA book, the hero is my favorite JA hero.

The first session that I went to was called "Team Tilney Explains It All".  It was a panel of four ladies explaining why Henry was their favorite Austen hero.  There was also a man from England dressed like Henry Tilney who reinforced the panel's ideas with dialogue from Northanger Abbey.  It was very entertaining.  I didn't get a great picture of the actor, but here is a blurred version.

 There was a display of first editions of JA works.

Bob's sister and brother-in-law picked us up and we stayed with them and went to church with them and they dropped us at the airport on Monday morning.

The trees were still very colourful, even in the rain.  Here is a picture taken from Tom and Margaret's back yard.

 Our flight back home wasn't so great.  After we booked, the direct flight from Portland to Calgary was taken off, and we had to go through Vancouver, B.C.  Our flight was late leaving Portland and we missed our connection to Calgary, but luckily we got on the next flight and made our connection to Lethbridge.  It took an extra five hours without the direct flight between Portland and Calgary.