Winter Is Around the Corner

As evidenced by the beauty of this tree, fall is still hanging on--but only by a thread!

Saturday night we had the first snow and ice storm of the season.  This is a picture of the ice on the bedroom window.  For the most part, ice storms do not happen in Utah, but they happen here.  And they are awful!

The work at the office this week was pretty calm--for me, that is.  For the Evans, it was something else.  As the housing coordinators, they are responsible for setting up apartments for both the young and the senior missionaries.  During October and the first week of November, they have had to get four senior apartments up and running.  What a job!  Sister Evans orders many, many things online, has the items delivered at the office, and then Elder Evans takes the mission truck and hauls everything to the apartment where it is needed.  We have had so many deliveries lately that one delivery person asked, "Who has learned to order things online?"  I pointed at Sister Evans.  She responded to him by saying, "At least you didn't have to deliver the couch I ordered." Not to be outdone, his retort was "I'll probably have to deliver that tomorrow!" One couple came in yesterday and the last couple will be here next Saturday--then the Evans will get a bit of a break!

Yellow pea soup is a specialty of Quebec.  Let me tell you, it is delicious! On Friday evening we went to Restaurant Denos, one of our favorite Montreal hangouts, for dinner.  The soup of the day was—yellow pea soup, so wonderful!

We both had fish and chips to go along with the soup.  Trying to watch my carbs, I took off most of the batter--it was still great.

Around 9:30 Friday evening, my phone rang.  That's not unusual because the missionaries call Pat all the time with car issues, and if the they can't get him on his phone, they call me on mine.  When I looked at the phone, however, it was a Midvale number. It wasn't a number I recognized. The caller left a voice message.  It was someone who was asking me to sub for her in the Salt Lake Temple on Saturday!  How funny is that?

Saturday morning we walked down to St. Catherine Street and saw this staircase on the way back.  The Evans don't like spiral staircases.  I wonder why?  Can you image trying to haul a fridge up or down stairs like this?  They've had to do it! They get the young elders to use their brawn for projects like that.  Sister Evans said that when they were trying to get a refrigerator down some spiral stairs and the appliance was literally on the young elders' backs, she couldn't look.  She said it was a good thing that their mothers couldn't see what their sons were doing!

Friday night there was some kind of commotion going on across the street.  Police had blocked off Cherrier, the street just above us, and many officers were in the park across the street from the apartment building.  There was a large police presence:  about seven police cars, many police officers, and a dog.  They had flashlights shining in the trees and around the buildings.  It looked like they were trying to find someone or something.  On our way back from our walk Saturday morning, we checked out the park. Who knows what they were trying to find.  Who knows if they found it. Always something going on.

My favorite walkway in Angrignon Park is carpeted in leaves!  So many leaves!

Tonight we invited the two sister missionaries from our ward, the LaSalle Ward, to come over for dinner.  They were to be at the apartment at 6.  A few minutes after 6, we received a phone call.  The Green Metro Line was shut down at Lionel Groulx Station. It took them almost an hour to get here.  Then to add insult to injury, our elevators aren't working properly.  Pat had to walk down to the second floor to take the elevator to the street floor (because there is no way to get to the street floor from inside the building). By some miracle, they were able to take the elevator up to the third floor. When they left, the elevator was not working, again.  Pat had to take them down the fire escape into the alley, around the corner and into the metro!  In spite of the hour delay, the meal was good.  We had chili, cornbread muffins, a salad, and brownie sundaes for dessert.

 And here we are:  Sisters Costa and Lopez and the McGees We certainly do love these young missionaries that we work with!

We did a video chat with Marianne and the two kids along with Byron and Lynette Terry, Marianne's parents.  (Chris was taking a nap!) Always a delight to talk to those we love.

Before working on the blog I took to the hall to get my steps for the day in.  The hallway is 75 steps long.  I either walked or ran the 3rd through the 8th floor four times, on the way up and walked one or two times on each floor on the way down.  10,900 steps! Yeah.

Now it's time to call it a day.  We love our mission; we're so glad we chose to serve the Lord in this way.  Love to all.

Fall in Quebec

We are definitely heading through fall and into winter.  The temperatures are dropping and we had very light snow flurries on Thursday and then again this morning. That doesn't make this senior missionary very happy, especially since I have decided that whenever possible I will use myself as transportation and walk to the office.  The exercise is good for my diabetes control as well as for my mental sanity! We'll see how that plan pans out as the temperatures continue to plummet!

We had a fairly routine week at the office. We were super busy with this that and the other.  Because he is the vehicle coordinator, Pat is always, always busy with a multitude of things. The electronic monitoring system that is in all the cars, TiWi, constantly gives him grief! I've decided TiWi was a great idea but lacks much in implementation!  The Evans who are the housing coordinators have had the yeoman's task.  Yesterday we had a new senior couple arrive, and for each of the next two Saturdays, another couple will arrive.  Each of those couples need an apartment--that's what the Evans have been doing.  We saw the results of their labors yesterday--they have created such a wonderful environment for the new couple.

Sister Puzey and I did our apartment inspections.  When we were over in the Mount Royal area, we found our silly little fellow. We've now seen him in three seasons - one to go! Here he is surrounded with pumpkins.

We did have a funny thing happen this week:  A gentleman came in wanting 50 Spanish Bibles!  He said he was a missionary doing work in Mexico!  He wasn't a member of the Church and wasn't affiliated with any group.  He had seen an ad about the Church giving away Bibles, so he thought he'd get his supply from us.  I explained that those Bibles were meant to be given one or two at a time--not 50 at a shot.  We had a nice discussion about the Bible and then I told him I wanted to give him a book that was another Testament of Jesus Christ.  So he left with a Spanish Book of Mormon.

Saturday morning we went to the Montreal Temple at 6:00 to fulfill a cleaning assignment.  What a wonderful experience.  Sister Hyde and the two of us were the only ones from the ward who were there.  We worked with two men who must be on the staff for church facilities.  We had to be finished by 7:45.  Since we were over in Longueuil, we decided we'd make a Walmart run--that's what we did.

Yesterday afternoon, went to the LaSalle Ward for a baptism.  This ward is absolutely on fire with missionary work!  As is my custom I walked through the Angrignon Park, which is in full fall splendor.  Here it is on Saturday about 4:00 p.m. I love crunchy leaves, so I was in heaven!

 This morning I walked through it again on my way to church.  The colors are magnificent:

 The evergreens are stately and fit in so beautifully with the colorful trees surrounding them.

Here is the little lake lined with color. Heavenly Father certainly created beauty for us to enjoy, didn't he?

This evening we invited the two missionaries from our ward along with one of the counselors in the bishopric, Stephen Simkovits, and the young man that was in our Temple Prep class, Vincent Mutia over.  We had a wonderful dinner:  Puréed butternut squash, King Ranch Chicken Casserole, and veggies. For dessert we had oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce.  It was delicious, even if I do say so myself.

After we had eaten, the missionaries invited us to do what the Prophet has asked:  Read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year and mark each time a reference to the Savior is made.  I started doing that right after President Nelson asked the sisters to do it during the women's meeting for General Conference.  I am absolutely amazed at the number of times that the Savior is referred to!

And here we are for our after-dinner photo:  Vincent Mutia, Stephen Simkovits, Elder Menzel, Elder Newman and us.

We ended our Sabbath by FaceTiming with Christopher, Marianne, Sarah, and Michael.  We read Maple & Willow Together with the two kids and had wonderful chats with both Christopher and Marianne.  

And now it is time to wrap this up and start preparing for tomorrow.

Colorful Canada

When we were in Quebec City a few weeks ago, Elder Smith told me that following Route 132 along the river from Longueuil to Quebec City only added about 30 minutes driving time and was a lovely drive. I missed the turn off when we were heading home six weeks ago, so I decided I'd try it going up on Monday.  The trip didn't go as planned--it took us over five hours to get to Quebec City! Road signs in Quebec leave a lot to be desired! In many instances, they simply don't exist!  As a result, we kept getting lost! We would come to an intersection and had to guess which way to go--usually we guessed wrong!  At one point we decided to use Lucy; she took us to a ferry!  Oh, la la!  What a way to spent our 41st anniversary.

But the drive was gorgeous!  Fall in all her slender has arrived in Quebec with spectacular results!

It was a killer week: We drove to Quebec City on Monday so Pat could do the vehicle inspections on Tuesday. During the conference we also got to say good-bye to the Smiths who are heading for home next week and we got to meet the Bills who are taking their place.

After lunch, we drove back to Montreal. Luckily it only took us three hours!
Wednesday morning Sister Evans joined us for the drive to Longueuil Sud (South).  Sister Evans and I prepared lunch while Elder McGee did more vehicle inspections.

 On Friday we did the luncheon for the Montreal zones. This conference is held in the building that houses the mission office. Because parking is so terrible at that building these days (we have extra cars, metro workers parking there, others who park illegally, and the cars the missionaries had to bring to be inspected), I decided it would make life a lot simpler if I took the what we needed for the lunch to the office on Thursday. So at 9:00 p.m., that's what we did. To prepare for the three luncheons that the Montreal Seniors do, our apartment becomes a warehouse as the nonperishable items are stored here until we need to use them. I am happy to report that as of Friday morning, our apartment has lost that look--for a couple of weeks until we start the process over again!

Friday we walked to the Buffet Sultan for dinner and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing evening with our neighbors the Carlsons.  Came home, got ready for bed and then the fire alarm went off.  We were ready to head outside when one of the workers said there was no fire. Too bad the fire department didn't know that because they showed up--in force. (This is on the street just outside our third floor apartment! Always something going on!

Saturday six of us went to the Biosphere.  This was the US exhibit for the 67 World Fair.  It is now a museum focusing on the environment.  The structure is located in Jean Drapeau Parc. The park is full of fall color, so the entire experience was fabulous!

A living world globe

One of the exhibits inside the biosphere is a living wall of plants.

Views  from the Biosphere observation deck:

Within the park is a structure called Levi Tower. In a former life it was a water tower.  It is only about .2 km away from the biosphere, so off I went . . .

. . . and passed a small cemetery. . .

. . . saw sights like this . . .

. . .  walked through a forest (got lost twice and enlisted the help of two policemen to get back on the right path). . .

. . . and had to climb over 100 stairs to get to the observation deck--but the views were spectacular:

Montreal side of the Jacques Cartier Bridge

Longueuil part of the Jacque Cartier Bridge

Jacque Cartier Bridge - Longueuil Side

The Biosphere

Montreal (The white structure in the upper right is the Clock Tower at the Old Port.)

More of Montreal 

The Saint Lawrence River

Saw this gorgeous tree on the way back to the metro.

Sunday we spent a quiet hour with the Carlsons enjoying a wonderful dutch oven potato dinner.  Potato loving Pat was in heaven. Then we headed across the bridge to the stake center next to the temple for a devotional for temple workers--beautiful, beautiful evening.


And in my spare time I finished my 5th christening outfit!

And took the time to vote by mail.

Tomorrow we are heading to Plattsburgh, New York with a senior sister who did not get the proper documentation when she entered Canada a few days ago.  Salt Lake has been trying to figure out what needed to be done--we are taking her out of the country and then stopping at the border and hoping she can get her work permit.  We're armed with all kinds of information and the phone number of an attorney in case we need it.  We're also going to mail the little tux, my ballot, and a package to a senior couple's grandchild.  It will also count as our vehicle's mandatory excursion out of Canada.

Yuba City! Wow!

Conference Weekend--and what a weekend it was! Six months ago, major changes were made in the way the Church members care for one another. This weekend, additional changes were announced that will make it easier for families to learn together in their homes.  We were able to listen to conference on the Internet--and I loved it! Tonight we had two sisters over for dinner. We talked about what messages stood out for each one of us. Before they left, they asked how we were going to apply what we had heard in our daily lives.  For me, President Nelson challenged the women of the Church last night to take a break from social medial--so in the short term, taking a break from FaceBook for ten days is how I am going to apply what I learned.  I'll have to ponder and decide how I'll apply the teachings in the long term.

On October 8, 1977, forty-one years ago tomorrow, Pat and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple. 

After a reception that evening at the Heritage House (which no longer exists) and an early Thanksgiving dinner with my family the next day, we boarded a plane on October 10, 1977, and headed west to begin our married life in Yuba City. California. We lived there for the first seven years of our marriage. Although we have been away from Yuba City for thirty-four years, we cherish the connections and memories that we have of what was then a farming community 40 miles north of Sacramento.  

We were both thrilled when we heard President Nelson announce that Yuba City was the location of one of the twelve new temples!  

Wednesday I was in Westmount, a section of Montreal and saw several groups of school kids.  I thought they were darling! They were all wearing the same kind of jersey/jacket.

 And here's their teacher-making sure everyone is coming along!

 As I walked back to the metro station, I saw this lovely building (and the items in a blue plastic bag ready for the recycling pickup).

We spent a lot of time in metro stations!  When we're out and about, this is the sign we look for.

On Wednesday I was at the Verdun Station.  The doors are called butterfly doors and are supposed to be easy to open.  You push either side to enter or exit. However, when the wind is blowing, they are very hard to open!

It was a busy, busy week in the mission because it was the first week of zone conferences and also time for the monthly Mission Leadership Council. The only thing I have to do for MLC is make a Costco run to purchase the food for the luncheon. I did that last Friday. My involvement in zone conferences is more extensive. I calculate the amounts of food we need for each of the three lunches that the Montreal seniors provide. Then I have to procure the food.  I order some things online from an IGA market, pick up other items at Costco, and make additional purchases at markets and grocery stores. Wednesday the carpets at the office were being cleaned, so it was a perfect day to make a trip to the Jean Talon Market to buy the produce we needed for the first conference.  The produce there is absolutely gorgeous! It is an enormous market! I asked the merchant that I was dealing with if it was open in the winter.  She said that of course they were because people had to eat in the winter too! I'm curious to see what they do during the winter when the snow is flying! Enjoy the market through these pictures.

Pumpkins and mums!

Will you look at those leeks!

Clementines and avocados 

Potatoes and beets

Flowers

Peppers, peppers, and more peppers

One of the most difficult things that we have dealt with is how to get purchases from the store to our apartment. Even when we drive to the store, it is difficult to get what we bought where it needs to go. I bought a new tool that will help with this problem.  I'm happy to report that it works like a dream. With the three wheels, it goes up and down the stairs with ease!  Wish I had purchased it a year ago!

Thursday was the first zone conference in this cycle.  Pat attended because he had to do the vehicle inspections. The next day was the zone conference in Ottawa. After he finished with the inspections in Montreal, we headed for Ottawa around 2:30.  We thought that if we left early in the afternoon, we'd miss the traffic--didn't work. We were stuck in traffic for quite a while.  Once we got going, though, the drive was delightful.  The trees are starting to change colors.

 Sunday we had Sisters Austin and Hunt over for dinner! We certainly love these sisters!

And in my spare time I started a sewing project.  This is for a little guy who will be born anytime now.  It might be Thursday before I'll be able to start the little tuxedo jacket that goes with this outfit because we are driving to Quebec City tomorrow for the zone conference there.  We'll return Tuesday so that I can bake two dozen cornbread muffins for another conference on Wednesday, and I'll be in the temple Wednesday evening.  We'll see.

And that sums up our week here in the Canada Montreal Mission!