Plattsburgh

Yesterday we drove to upstate New York—only takes about 90 minutes to go to Plattsburgh. In order to avoid having to register our car in Quebec, we have to leave the country at least once every six months—yesterday was the day. Ironically, it took us, American citizens, longer to enter the US than it did to reenter Canada! What a crazy world we all live in.

It was too cold to do much in Plattsburgh. We had to make purchases so we could prove that we had been out of Canada. Pat remembered a mall that had been built in the late 70s or 80s. We found it and strolled around for a couple of hours. Inside the mall was a wonderful book store. These two former English teachers were in heaven. The store had quite a large children’s section, so we were able to purchase some new books to read to Sarah and Michael when we FaceTime with them. We had lunch at the food court in the mall, went to a grocery store, and then headed home. We were back in Montreal by 4. Nice little jaunt.

It was bitter cold in Plattsburgh!

Today we ended up being in a nasty traffic jam! Montreal celebrates St. Patrick’s Day on a Sunday around the 17th. We ended up in the mess as the parade was ending. We made it from LaSalle to rue Peel in good time—and then it was awful going the last few kilometers. Took us nearly an hour.

Earlier in the week a temporary missionary entered the Canada Montreal Mission. He is supposed to go to Tahiti but hasn’t been able to get his visa. He’ll be with us for a few weeks. He’s with a team of missionaries that we had invited to come to dinner tonight. So, we had three young missionaries and Sister Puzey with us. I made a raclette—it is a fun, traditional Swiss meal that centers around a special grill that allows individuals to melt cheese and cook/heat meats and vegetables. I have a raclette grill at home and now I have one here. We certainly enjoyed out time with these young missionaries. A huge thank you to my dear friend Isabelle Chabot—she brought the raclette grill I have in Salt Lake back with her from Quebec. When she gave me the grill, she also gave me a recipe for a marinade for the meat. I didn’t bring it with me. I love text! I was able to text her—in French, mind you—and request that recipe. She took a picture of the recipe in her recipe book and emailed it to me. Technology is grand, isn’t it. I’ll use the grill next week and again in April when we have other missionaries come for dinner. 

We had a raclette for dinner . . .

. . . and pie

. . . and a photo: Sister Puzey, Elders Myers (front), Tehei, Harker, McGee, and Sister McGee

Last Sunday Pat left his coat at church in LaSalle. Monday we went to LaSalle to get it! Miracle of miracles—we made it over and back with NO trouble. It is getting easier to get around. We found a wonderful mall over there. It’s nice to find these little nooks and crannies around the area.

Wednesday I was by myself at the office—the other missionaries were at zone conference. It was such a quiet, almost boring, day. The rest of the week was very routine. The cars didn’t create as many problems for Pat this week as they have in previous weeks. Sunday is a day we look forward to because we FaceTime with Marianne, Sarah, and Michael. We miss those precious little kids so much—so grateful that we have the technology that allows us to spent time with them.

All in all it was a good week.