FEBRUARY 22-28, 2015

THIS WEEK'S BLOG POST IS

 CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS.

Still stuck inside all week with a cold.  Nothing to report, nothing to show...very boring,indeed. Sorry and see you next week!

FEBRUARY 14-22, 2015

SNOWZILLA !

In honor of the Academy Awards tonight I just had to begin my post with this!

Another week, another blizzard. Another day, another snowstorm. Ah, such is life in a New England winter. 

But... we know how to do winter right!

Head off to a warm and cozy Bed and Breakfast in Vermont for a few days.  Enjoy the countryside in winter and a fireplace in your bedroom and a sleigh ride through the woods. 

Sigh.

That was the plan for the first few days of this week but Mother Nature and sickness had other ideas.  We thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate our hump day and Valentine's Day and break up the long winter with some new sights and experiences; to get out of the city and traffic and see this gorgeous snow out in the country in its pristine state in wide open fields and forests, go play in it, go snowshoeing, and see some of New England's most charming villages covered in snow. 

We so very sorrowfully had to cancel our reservations for all of the above bliss.

This was the sad reality:

 Dale and I have both been down with colds so we haven't been outside to take any photos.

Once again, these from the Boston Globe will have to do to give you an idea of life hereabouts.

 The snowfall wasn't this deep but the snowdrifts were!

 While I think the snow is beautiful and fun, my heart goes out to all those who have to work in it .

 Made it to the Top Two!
100 inches in 4 weeks!

 Making lemonade out of a lemon!

6000 truckloads a day are taken to 'snow farms'.

 600 National Guardsmen were called in to help.

Mount M.I.T. !

  Except for a few hours on Friday,  I have been inside for one week straight. So , obviously, this will be a pretty boring post.  :(

 Our own snowdrifts.

And to keep things in perspective:

 1st Snowfall

 2nd

 3rd

 4th

Now you'd never know anything was even there!

Our apartment.  This was my entire world for one week straight. 

Good thing I"m not prone to cabin fever and I brought lots of projects to work on. 

(and I love how this app makes it look so much nicer than it is:)

Seems appropriate to end this post the same way it began- with a little humor.

“I say we let it pile up and then just dig tunnels through the snow, a series of Habitrails so you never have to go out and see the mayhem,” said Tony V, a veteran stand-up who lives in Charlestown. “Every once in a while you could have a dome where several tunnels meet so you could hang out and have a cigar, talk to your neighbors, then go back home. We’ll live like ferrets.”

I don't feel like much of a missionary this week.  I tried to do some family history, etc. but with extra brain fog and stinging eyes and lack of concentration all I could manage was to lay on the couch and catch up with some HGTV shows and old movies and Pinterest and edit some photo albums.

I even tried posting a few links from talks that I read and an interesting news item from the church but nothing is working for me so I'll just leave you with this:

Yes, I still feel this way about it.  :)

I rejoice in the beauty of the seasons that surround me.

FEBRUARY 9-14, 2015

Three weeks: Three blizzards!

Marcus was just getting going as I ended my post last week and as I write this, Neptune is coming on strong. 

Quite the exciting time to be in Boston!

Neptune is expected to drop 12-18 inches on top of the snow mass we already have. 

Before this new storm we had 62" in 3 weeks.  It broke records- the most in the shortest amount of time.  We had two 'top-10' storms in 2 weeks. This coming storm is a double threat because of the freezing temperatures. 

As I haven't been able to take the photos I would like to document these storms, I downloaded some images that capture what we see all around us.  Enjoy!

 Boston University Students enjoying their snow day. :)

 So pretty!

Just seein' if you're paying attention!  

 My favorite one!  Don't let the wreaths throw you; I mentioned before how they keep them up forever here! 

You have to even shovel your roof here!  

We were snowed in all day Monday, went out just to shovel out the car and move it on Tuesday. 

On Wednesday I ventured out to do the marketing for our Valentine's lunch coming up on Friday. 

Here are a few of our own pics of this storm...

 Notice this snow pile reaches the 2nd floor balcony.

Dale has been down with bronchitis all week so I went to the Temple by myself.  It snowed all day but it was a light wet snow that didn't really accumulate.  But with the freezing temps, it scared people away.  Four sessions in a row were cancelled and we held the 3:00 for just one person.  They figured if he was brave enough to come, he deserved to be able to do what he came for. :)

 Thursday was also our "Hump Day", the halfway mark for our mission.  We've been here 9 months and have 9 months to go.  We have enjoyed our mission so much that we wouldn't even be counting the days if it wasn't for missing our family and friends.  But the way time is flying , we will be together again before we know it! 

Friday the sun was shining but it was still very cold.

Church parking lot

Snowed all the way to the top of the fence!

Church icicles.

 We were able to make it to our district meeting and have our special little Valentine's Lunch for our zone.  All the senior missionaries chipped in to help to show our love and appreciation for these valiant, hard-working, fully committed young missionaries.  We made 'Fumi" Salad with chicken and mandarin oranges, warm rolls, red velvet cake, white chocolate and M&M popcorn, and fudge.  

We had a cookie making station for them to make treats as a service project to take to whomever they chose.  They did a great job! Should have taken some photos of the finished projects. 

We've been doing service for each other for the past 2 months.  We draw names and then do something special for that companionship .  It's usually secret but these four made up a fun 'beat  box' song for the 2 elders sitting down.  Very entertaining! 

Saturday, February 14th, Valentine's Day.

We knew the storm was coming in Saturday afternoon so we went out for a nice dinner Friday night instead.  We had a tiny celebration at home. I gave Dale all these "cheesy" items. (he loves beets! and they are red- perfect for Valentine's , right?!) The cups I bought in Newburyport way back on my birthday.  They day Sweetie and Darling. Too irresistible. We needed them for our soup and hot chocolate :) Our main gift to each other is slated for next week.  You'll just have to wait and see what it is!

 I absolutely love the way the sky looks just before sunset in our backyard.  Camelot is one of my all-time favorite movies and there is a scene in the movie where King Arthur is extolling the virtues of Camelot to Guinevere in which the castle is shown against a pink sky that looks just like this and he says it always had a pink glow to him.  I get to re-live that scene every night here :)

Snowfall

The hush of a snowfall at night. 

NEPTUNE DELIVERED! 

But you will have to wait until next week's post to hear all about it.

The pure love of Christ, known as charity, is the highest,noblest, and strongest kind of love and most joyous to the soul (see Nephi 11:23) Jesus Christ is the perfect example of charity.  In His mortal ministry, He "went about doing good," showing tender compassion for the poor,afflicted, and distressed (see Matthew 4:23, Acts 10:38). To develop Christlike love, we must seek it, pray for it, and follow the example of the Savior in our thoughts, words, and actions.

We love our Heavenly Father and our savior, Jesus Christ. 

We are so grateful for the knowledge we have of Them and Their plan for us through the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We are most grateful to be able to serve Them in this small way and strive each day to develop charity within our souls. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

WE LOVE YOU!