Another Transfer Cycle Ends

I have said this often—time rushes relentlessly!  Here we are at the end of another transfer cycle.  It seems that we just finished the previous one yesterday! In reality, that was six weeks ago.

This was the week that we make certain we’re ready for the new missionaries who will arrive on Wednesday, the transfer that takes place on Thursday, and the departure of the missionaries leaving on Friday.  We check and double check and then find we’ve missed something and then get whatever it is done!

While we were busy, as usual, it was a rather calm week.  Friday, Sister Puzey and I were the only ones in the office! For much of the day it was very quiet! The Evans were doing apartment inspections and other out-of-the office tasks.  Pat came into the office briefly before Sister Puzey and I arrived to take care of paperwork necessary for a car that was involved in an accident. I met him at the top of the metro stairs as he was heading home and I was heading into the office! He is having horrible issues with his allergies this year.  He went to the doctor on Thursday and was given a couple of prescriptions and told to stay down for a couple of days to see if he can get them under control.  The President was doing interviews, so we saw several missionaries.

Yesterday nine of us headed to Ottawa to go to the tulip festival.  During WWII, the future queen of the Netherlands Juliana took refuge in Canada. One of her children Margariet was actually born in an Ottawa hospital. The Canadian government declared the room in the hospital where she was born extraterritorial so that she  could derive her citizenship solely from her mother. Canada was also heavily involved in the liberation of Holland at the end of the war.  To show their appreciation for what Canada had done for them and their country, Juliana’s mother, Queen Wilhelmina, sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa. Holland continued sending bulbs annually since that time. Most of the tulips are around Dow’s Lake. We went early in the morning and missed the crowds.  The tulips are in Commissioner’s Park. Unlike the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point, there is no charge to stroll through the park. They were simply gorgeous!  

Gordons, Sisters Hyde, McGee, Iverson, Howe, Puzey, the Evans, and the Carlsons

The white tulip with the red stripe is the 150 Canadian to commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary.

Commissioner's Park and Dow's Lake - the site of the tulip festival

Marina at Dow's Lake

The Gordons provided a delicious picnic lunch for us in Hog Back Park, Elder Gordon took those of us who wanted to go on a walk to see the Rideau River and the locks on the Rideau Canal. I'd never seen locks before, so I was fascinated.

We also saw the Rideau River from the bridge in Hog's Back Park.

During the afternoon we took a bus tour around the city—when we boarded it, most of us were on the top deck of an open double-decker bus. We got soaked! We were going to go through the history museum, but it was so crowded we decided we didn’t have the time we necessary. Several of us went to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stables instead. The only thing I knew about the RCMP is what I’ve seen in TV programs on read in books. One of the earliest of these was Sargent Preston of the Yukon who   helped maintain law and order in snowy Canada. There is a 32-member unit that does precision riding to music. The stables house the horses used for this special show.  It was a great tour!

The performing horses involved in the Musical Ride

We also ran into this. Pat has a relative named Thomas D'Arcy McGee who was involved in early Canadian government. I wonder if this was named after him?

Today we had two sisters from our ward came to dinner. We joined forces with Sister Puzey and managed to pull together a wonderful mean.  She made chicken cordon bleu and I did the potatoes, vegetables, and dessert.  I was going to make a tropical pecan pie but discovered late last night that I didn’t have the right kind of pineapple, so I decided on a dessert from my childhood:  cottage pudding.  Cottage pudding consists of a plain yellow cake with a vanilla sauce that we used to call dip. I remember making the dip with my mom but haven’t done it for probably 35-40 years.  I remembered the ingredients but didn’t have a clue on the proportions, so I consulted Dr. Google—found something that I was able to use.  It was delicious and such a sweet memory of long ago.

With Sisters Puzey, Ashcraft, and Steno

While we were doing the dishes, Marianne initiated a video call—we spent about 40 minutes with her and those precious children.  She was on her cell phone and they were roaming the neighborhood—so we had a bonus of seeing places we love as well as people we love.  Can’t ask for anything better!

We continue to enjoy our mission experiences. Every day we are so grateful that we chose to put our papers in. Every day we’re so grateful we were called to Montreal.