Chinooks are our friend.........

Blog for January 15, 2017

Chinooks are our friend……..

After several weeks of bone numbing, sub-zero cold, cold weather we are blessed to enjoy a period of warmer Chinook type weather, and this is just in time. We can see on the schedule that we are to do car inspections at four locations as President Miles conducts zone conferences with our missionaries. Picturing doing inspections outside in such bitter cold weather is the thing nightmares are made of; however, the next several days will be the answer to our prayers as we will have above freezing temperatures. No, it won’t be balmy by any means and it will still feel quite cold as we go from car to car to do the inspections. It will take 3-4 hours to complete the inspections at each of the sites as zones are combined at each of the locations resulting in 20-25 cars to inspect each day. 

You likely know the word, Chinook, but not necessarily what Chinooks are. Chinooks are weather patterns in northern areas that occur when the prevailing breezes come out of the west and southwest rather than from the arctic and thus sweep in warmer temperatures. Some degree of wind is a common feature of Chinooks but we will take it. The above freezing temperatures will mean cars arrive with dirty exteriors due to the slushy, dirty snow on the roads and this will make assessing the cars for dings, dents, and scrapes more difficult, but we will take this over bone numbing cold.

Another reason for welcoming a Chinook is hopefully a reduction in the number of missionary car related accidents from icy, slippery roads. There have been so, so many. My job will be made much easier when I have fewer repairs to arrange and manage.

I mentioned in our last blog that Kathy and I would be making a trip to British Columbia to deliver a replacement car to the missionaries who were involved in the serious collision with a semi-truck. There are only certain cars we want out in the mountainous areas of BC so this meant needing to take one of the Chevy Equinox vehicles in the Calgary area out to Sparwood, BC, where we would meet the missionaries coming in from their area in Cranbrook, BC. In preparation for this, on Tuesday I traveled to the northwest part of Calgary to take a Subaru Impreza (one that was waiting to be sold) to the missionaries who had the needed Equinox and a swap was made. They were, of course, sad to give up their Equinox, which is a popular car in the mission. Then I had to have mountain rated snow tires placed on it. So on Wednesday, Kathy and I drove to Sparwood. The pictures above and below were taken on this trip.

Great timing, on Tuesday a new vehicle arrived which we have been waiting for as a replacement for the Mission President’s “old” vehicle. Both the old and the new vehicles are Toyota Highlanders. I called the MP to inform him we had his new vehicle and he, knowing of our anticipated trip to BC, invited us to “break in” the new vehicle for him and drive it to BC so we would have a return car. They were in the southern part of the mission during the week. Kathy followed me in the Highlander to Sparwood and then I got to drive it back. We both like it a lot. It handled very well in the ice and snow. The day was bright and sunny and we enjoyed the trip and the scenery/ We were able to treat the missionaries needing the car and the other pair of missionaries who drove them to lunch before returning. 

The new Highlander

The “old” Highlander is only a 2015 vehicle but, given the distance Pres. and Sis. Miles drive each month, it is the highest mileage vehicle in the mission. Now that we have the new vehicle, the old one will be sold. There are at least two parties wanting it (one of them is the Thorleys). Both parties will be interested to see what price it is given by the Fleet managers in SLC.

Going to a hockey game was one of the items on our bucket list of things to be done before our mission ends. Hockey (and curling) are BIG in Canada. There are 3-4 hockey and/or curling matches on TV every evening. Last night was our opportunity. 

Maintenance on the goal between periods

The Zamboni (resurfaces the ice between periods)

All three office couples met at the Peppinger’s for soup and salad, and then headed for the match. The Calgary Flames are, of course, the local National Hockey League team, however, tickets to see one of their matches proved to be so expensive that we opted to see a minor league hockey game instead since these, too, are played in the Saddle Dome. The Calgary HITMEN were playing the Prince George COUGARS. The HITMEN team is a local team that plays in a league made up of farm teams for the NHL. We had a great time. Our seats were one row back from the glass barrier so we got to see and hear the action up close and personally. 

Elder and Sis Peppinger, Kathy, Elder and Sis Sefcik

We couldn’t have enjoyed the match more had it been the Calgary Flames playing the Edmonton Oilers. All the lights, sounds, and crowd excitement were there. Calgary loves the HITMEN (as well as the Flames). The minor league teams are made up of young men between 16-20 years old who are working for contracts with teams in the NHL. They played their hearts out. There were hard hits, fistfights (more on this below), and highflying action through all three periods. The score was tied going into the last period, but, in the end, the HITMEN lost by one goal. We sat just behind a couple who are season ticket holders and are experienced hockey fans. They loved sharing the nuances of the game with us and were fascinated that we had never been to a professional hockey game (although I suspect they haven’t seen a professional basketball or baseball game so there!). I should say, however; the Sefciks, who are a local missionary couple serving with us in the office, are experienced hockey fans and they also shared details about hockey that might otherwise have escaped us.

Maintenance between periods

  Fistfights are not uncommon in hockey. They are allowed; the refs stand by and allow them to proceed, but step in as soon as one player gains the advantage over the other or is about to do serious harm. There is a two-minute penalty, however, for fighting, but this doesn't seem to deter them. Remember that the players are pretty well padded and also wear facemasks so body blows are allowed but when the masks come off, the fight is stopped. We observed a couple of fistfights and I caught one with a video clip which you will need to go to my Facebook page to see. Anyway, great fun and we will need to perhaps do it all over again. The Saddledome is a treat in and of itself. If you are ever in Calgary, you will need to see the Saddledome.

Calgary Saddledome

Stayed tuned…..more exciting action next week. Have a great week!

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Blog for January 8, 2017

It continues to be very cold. Each day it drops a half-inch or two of snow and the temperature is 10-20 below zero (F) at night and then gets up to 2-5 degrees above zero during the daytime. The good news is, the days are getting a bit longer again but not so much that it is very noticeable, - yet. We were spoiled last year, I suppose; we had several days of very cold weather around Christmas time and then the weather became more moderate for the rest of the winter. Not so this year, at least not so far and not for the foreseeable future. We are not looking forward to next week when we will be doing car inspections at several zone conferences around the mission.

The cold and snowy weather continues to contribute to the total sliding accidents involving our missionaries. I can barely keep up with the process of what it takes to get the cars back in service. In my last blog I described this process. I currently have 15 or so open files, which represent vehicles at various stages of the repair process. Unfortunately the worst of all the accidents occurred this past Friday evening. Two of our missionaries serving out in British Columbia hit a patch of black ice, began to fishtail back and forth, and then slid into the path of an oncoming semi truck and trailer. A head-on collision was narrowly avoided; the impact was with one of the trailers being pulled by the semi. 

They escaped unharmed, at least physically. They seem to be doing okay but I’m sure it was a very frightening event which they will remember all their lives. The vehicle involved is a Nissan Rogue. They were wearing seat belts and the front compartment crumpled as designed and the curtain airbags deployed, which undoubtedly saved the missionaries’ lives. The cabin compartment appears, at least in the pictures, to have remained intact. Needless to say, the car is a total loss. Kathy and I will be driving a replacement car out to them sometime during the week. The cars serving in BC are all equipped with special mountain-rated snow tires. The replacement car (one of our older cars waiting to be sold) will be fitted with these special snow tires before we head to BC with the car.

This past week was “transfer week”. Tuesday our new missionaries arrived and we met with them for training. On Wednesday they met their trainer companions and left for their first areas. On Thursday I again drove all the missionaries being transferred to the south to Lethbridge, and then returned the same day with the missionaries being transferred to the north to Calgary. Since the departing missionaries had left the preceding week (left a week early so they could get back in school), the rest of the week was less involved then the typical transfer week.

Even before the accident in BC described above, we began putting some emergency kits together for the BC missionaries, - this out of concern for our BC missionaries who have greater risk of becoming stranded on less traveled roads. These will contain blankets, jumper cables, flashlight, extra batteries, folding shovel, and some chemical hand warmers. To the kit they will add water and some non-perishable food. Since Kathy and I will be heading to BC this week with the replacement car, I spent time at the office yesterday (our P-day) finishing the kits so they will be ready to go. We had planned to take them with us to the zone conferences but now they will get to them even earlier.

This weekend was our Stake Conference. Kathy and I sang with the stake choir. There was no visiting GA but the talks were wonderful. Our Stake President is recovering from a couple of back-to-back heart attacks but he was there and gave wonderful messages both in the Saturday evening and Sunday sessions. He is such an impressive man, - so humble and patient and kind. Also Kathy and I continued our Friday evening visits to the Calgary Temple.

It has been an eventful week. We are grateful to have some time to catch our breath, and we are so, so very grateful that our missionaries' lives were preserved.

Have a great week!

Goodbyes, New Years Eve, and more snow........

Blog for January 1, 2017

We have had to say goodbye to some more great missionaries.

 

It is always sad to see our missionaries go but it is important for them to get on with their lives and reconnect with family and friends. Facebook makes it easy to reconnect with many after they get home, - sometimes it is like the very next day we see a friend request! While senior couples can have Facebook pages, the young missionaries don’t, at least while they are here in the mission. It doesn’t take long for them to reactive their page once they get home. It is fun to hear through the grapevine and on Facebook of those who might be dating as a result of an initial acquaintance while serving here. We know of at least one engagement announcement between two of our missionaries. Quite a few others who have gone home are engaged and even married but not necessarily to missionaries they met here.

Like Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, snow began on New Year’s Eve day and continued into New Years Day so I fear tomorrow will begin a new round of missionary car accidents, especially since it is their Preparation Day. There is a definite connection to a spike in accidents and P-day activities.

We have had an enjoyable but hectic week. It was highlighted by picking up the missionaries preparing to return home and going with them to the Calgary Temple on Tuesday

On Wednesday we drove them to the airport on where we said goodbye. 

During the week I also sold another couple of cars, and I coordinated repair items and detailing of other cars being prepared for sale.

I mentioned missionary accidents above; almost daily in this kind of weather I receive a phone call or  two from a pair of missionaries who have been involved in an accident. This begins a cascade of events. First I guide them through the online process of reporting an incident. This generates an electronic file and then I prepare a paper file to monitor progress with the repair. This paper file will eventually end up in the car’s maintenance file when all actions are completed. The electronic file also goes to our insurance claims manager in Ontario who directs a request for an estimate and pictures. I have to arrange this. Once the estimate and pictures are received, I send these electronically to the insurance managers. They work through an independent appraiser company and a price is set for the repairs. I get a notice that the repair has been approved at which time I inform the missionaries that they can set up an appointment for the repair. Once the repair has been completed, the repair facility is paid (often I have to cosign the check) and the missionaries get their car back. During the interim they have to walk or make other arrangements for getting around to their appointments. This process takes considerable time out of my day. In the meantime I am on the phone about needed oil changes, tire purchases, windshield replacements or repairs of rock chips, gas card issues, speeding tickets, and with the end of the year, getting all the vehicle registrations renewed. Then there are all the details of preparing cars for sale, working with potential car buyers, and keeping track of where all 98 cars are and what is needed to keep them going. It is a busy job and most days I can do it cheerfully. In most missions the vehicle coordinator (AKA the Car Czar) is known by the missionaries as the grumpy one in the office. I am sure I sometimes come across this way. This is situational; for example:

            Phone rings……

            Missionary (driver), “We were driving into the Church parking lot and we slid into a bush.”

            Me: “So is everything okay?”

            Missionary: “We think we cracked the bumper.”

            Me: “Hitting a bush cracked the bumper?”

            Missionary: “Well, yah”

            Me: “So the bumper is cracked. Is the car driveable?”

            Missionary: “We think so, but now the check engine light is on…….and the engine is making a funny noise.”

            Me: “Can you describe the noise?”

            Missionary: “I think my companion can describe it best.” Companion makes a clicking noise.

            Me: “Does the clicking noise speed up as the engine speeds up?”

            Missionaries: “Yes. And it gets louder.”

            Me: “Have you looked to see if there is something broken, or can you see something that the engine is hitting as it turns?”

            Missionaries: “We’re not sure. We can’t really see anything.”

            Me: “Where exactly are you?” And the conversation continues as I determine where they are and who I can arrange to look “more officially” at the car. We determine that the car should at least get them to a repair facility that is not too far away. Once there and the mechanic takes a quick look at the car and the conversation continues…..

            Mechanic: “The bumper is badly broken and is hanging down. The radiator has been broken from all four of its mounts and the fan is hitting the radiator. The A/C condenser is broken off from its mount,”….and the list goes on for awhile.

            Me: (thinking……all this from hitting a bush.) “Elders, this is a lot of damage. Did you hit anything else?”

            Missionary: “Well, we kind of hit the curb also.”

            Me: “So what did you hit first?”

            Missionary: “The curb, - but the curb didn’t stop us. It was the bush.”

            Me: (Me - thinking, “Oh, brother!”) “Elder’s, don’t you think that the curb was what really did the damage; the curb is hard concrete. What happened when you hit the curb?”

            Missionary: “Well, we bounced up and then we slid until we hit the bush.”

            Me: (Thinking, “good grief!....Now we are getting somewhere.”) “So you hit the curb hard enough that you bounced up on to it and continued to slide until you finally stopped when you got to the bush?

Missionaries: “Yes, that sounds about right.”

Me: “Okay, Elders; the damage is going to take some time to repair. In the meantime you will be walking to your appointments. We are going to need mechanical work on the engine and the radiator, and then when that is done, it will be several more days getting the bumper fixed and whatever else needs repairing on the body of the car.” (I’m thinking, “And maybe when you finally get the car back, you will appreciate it more and be more careful.”)

            Me: “So what have you learned from this experience?”

            Missionaries: “Maybe that we need to be more careful?”

            Me: “Yes, you do need to be more careful, but you also need to learn that you cannot drive as fast when there’s snow and ice on the roads.”

            Missionaries: “Can we get another car until this one is fixed?”

            Me: “No.”

So perhaps being grumpy comes with the territory. Previously Kathy and I had been asked to speak in our Sacrament Meeting. My assigned topic today was, “What can we learn about patience from the example and teachings of Jesus Christ?” Certainly I need to learn to be more patient, but my tolerance for avoidable accidents, I’m afraid, is going down.

And finally, we had a very nice New Years Eve gathering at the home of the local couple with whom we work in the office, the Sefciks. We played games and ate Chinese take out and barely stayed awake until midnight. It was fun and the food was excellent, but as soon as the New Year officially arrived, we were out the door and on our way home. We had to drive in the deepening snow but fortunately the roads were pretty much deserted. I suspect the traffic picked up again once the revelers left their reveling and hit the roads, but by that time we were home safe in bed, which is where old folks should spend New Year’s Eve.

We hope you had a wonderful New Years Eve. It will be interesting to see what 2017 will bring to each of us, to say the least.

We love and miss you all.

Twas the day after Christmas......

 Blog for December 26, 2016

This is a still from a video clip. See comments below about Calgary Nativity Pageant

We had a quiet but wonderful Christmas day. Since Christmas occurred on a Sunday, our church services were shortened and we combined with another ward for a musical Christmas program. Kathy and I lead off the program with a duet, “Were You There On That Christmas Night?” This number was the perspective piece, I suppose, to set the stage for the other music that followed which was arranged around the narration of the story of Christ’s birth. The program lasted around 90 minutes and was truly wonderful.

After the program, Kathy and I returned to our apartment to open our gifts from each other and from our families. We listened to Christmas music and Skyped with the families of Kathy’s daughter and son. Later we enjoyed an invitation to have dinner with some good friends in our ward, the Swendsons, and with their adult children and families who had gathered literally from all over the world. 

Two of their sons and families live in Colorado and another son and his family live in Saudi Arabia. Also they have two daughters who live here in Calgary who were there with their families. Another daughter and family live in Connecticut but weren’t able to get away. It was very well organized chaos. We had a great time and the food was wonderful. The Swendsons have become dear friends.

After the dinner we returned home and visited with my daughters via telephone and enjoyed hearing about their Christmases. Daughter Kellie and her family moved into their brand new home in Broomfield, Colorado, two days before Christmas. Daughter Brooke and family are awaiting completion of an expansion of their living space (actually into a part of their garage), and daughter Tana had a baby boy just three weeks ago, which I mentioned in last week’s blog. Daughter Jaime and her husband are buying a gym, which Jaime will run (she was our gymnast daughter as some of you may recall). Kathy’s son, Mike, showed us their now completed basement as we Skyped with them. As you may recall, last March Kathy and I returned to Utah to be there when Kathy’s daughter, Kristi, had her baby. That baby is now nine months of age and so cute and babbling up a storm, so it is a very exciting time for us and for our families. We also heard from Kathy’s son’s family who live in California. We love them all and it was so good to talk to them and get caught up. 

Today the mission office is closed as it is Boxing Day in Canada. Boxing Day is celebrated in Canada, England, and in many other present or former colonies that once belonged to the British Empire. Boxing Day is traditionally the day after Christmas. It gets its name from giving a boxed gift to public servants or household servants together with a day off to be with their families and in appreciation for their service. Some jokingly refer to Boxing Day as a day to return gifts to stores for a refund or to be exchanged for something they wanted for Christmas but didn’t get. More recently the day has become a sort of Black Friday (which is expanding into Boxing Week) at which time stores compete for business with discounted prices to their customers.

During the week we went to a Nativity Pageant, which the LDS Church has put on each year for over 40 years as a gift to the community. 

It is held during the week leading up to Christmas. The stakes in the area take turns putting on this annual event. Despite the weather, people line up to see the pageant, have some hot chocolate, and get their picture taken with some of the animals. The presentations recur every 20 minutes so one doesn’t have to stand too long in the cold. I got some terrific video clips with my iPhone but these won’t post to this blog so look for them on my Facebook page. Also you can go to Facebook and search for facebook.com/calgarynativitypageant where you can see scenes from the event. The scenery is stored at a nearby farm where the animals are also kept.

Also during the week we did the third and last of the Christmas get togethers with the Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Lethbridge East, and Cardston Zones. The format was the same; dinner, gift exchange, devotional, and pictures. It was equally enjoyable as were the others. The Lethbridge weather cooperated nicely; warmer and no wind!

 We hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well. We missed being with our families but, thanks to technology, we were able to enjoy it with them anyway. We love you all and wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.

Bring on the Winter Solstice.......Give me a longer day

Blog for December 18, 2016

Hooray for warmer weather, and for the approach of the shortest day of the year!

Happy Christmas greetings to all of you! This has been a busy week surrounding preparing for and putting on a series of Christmas dinners and devotionals for our missionaries. The first was for the missionaries in the zones on the north side of Calgary.

Missionaries from the Calgary North, Calgary West, and Confederation Zones gathering prior to the dinner 

The second gathering was for the zones in the west and south part of Calgary.

Fish Creek, Bow River, Foothills, and Calgary Zones

 The evenings began with a yummy ham, baked potato, and Cesar salad dinner.

Some of our cute Sister missionaries

Me, Sister Smith, Sister Shields, and Sister Thorley

Dinner was followed by a wild and crazy white-elephant gift exchange.

Passing White Elephant gifts left and right during the story being read

Left to right - Elder Purvis, Elder Stringham, and Elder Moffitt

These were some of the white-elephant gifts they ended up with at the end of the story.

Elder Pugh

Sister Blake duking it out with Elder Hatch

Each evening ended with a nice musical program and talks from President and Sister Miles. Again this year Kathy and I were asked to be part of the musical program and we sang, “Were You There on That Christmas Night?”. The other musical numbers came from solos, duets, and mixed group singing from the young missionaries themselves. There is so much incredible music talent in the mission!

Each gathering has been wonderful and heart warming, and there are still two more to go, one in Lethbridge for the zones in that area and Medicine Hat. The last will happen in Cranbrook, British Columbia for the zone out there. Because of the cold and snow and the large distances to travel to Lethbridge, it was felt to be safer to gather the one zone together in Cranbrook. Only President and Sister Miles will make the trip to BC to meet with the missionaries there.

As mentioned in the last couple of blogs, the weather has been absolutely frigid. 

Yes, it reads -10 degrees Fahrenheit

Fortunately, starting today we will have a period of much warmer weather, and right now at 5:00 p.m. the outside temperature is 36 degrees Fahrenheit! It’s a heat wave! Last Sunday we had an inch or two of snow fall on the already frozen ground and this lead to a myriad of car accidents, mostly on P-day. This suggests that too many of our missionaries were in a hurry for their zone P-day get togethers. On Monday I took six calls from around the mission telling of sliding into curbs while going around a turn or a round-about. Five of these dented the front right rims so badly that they had to be replaced (all where Subaru Imprezas) and the sixth dented both of the rims on the right side (a Chevy Cruz). In some cases the front steering arms got bent and one had to have the right front strut replaced. When I take these calls I always ask the missionaries what they learned from the experience or what they needed to have done to avoid the accident, and what could have been done to avoid the accident in the first place. In each case it involved being in a hurry and driving too fast for existing conditions. I don’t feel badly at all when poor judgement results in having to do without their vehicles for a few days. Hopefully having to get about in frigid weather will help them remember to slow down the next time. We also had one accident where another motorist slid into the car driven by some of our Sister missionaries. Thankfully they were not injured but their car was pretty badly damaged. 

Last night we attended a mission staff Christmas dinner at the mission home with President and Sister Miles.

President and Sister Miles and us

We had a lovely meal and a wonderful time visiting. Yesterday was one year to the day of our actual arrival in Calgary. What a fun year it has been!

Before I close, I have to share a picture of our latest grand baby mentioned in the last blog. He had a few days of an elevated bilirubin level and had to have phototherapy for a couple of days but is now doing great. Daughter, Tana, is also doing well. We are sad that we won’t be able to be there for his newborn blessing event.

Baby boy Whicker

We wish each and every one of you a joyous Christmas season. Please take time to reflect on the sacred birth of our Savior and Redeemer and express gratitude for His life, His mission, and His atonement and resurrection. As someone commented recently, “There would be no Christmas were it not for Easter.” Otherwise, the event would be just another baby born into the world. Think on that……..

Okay, now it is really cold!

Blog for December 11, 2016

Greetings from the frigid north country.

 

As you can see from the frost on the car, it has been really cold. I must say that it sounds colder in Centigrade than the same temperature in Fahrenheit. We have been having actual temperature readings of -23 C which converts to -9 F, but with the humidity and breeze, the wind chill has reached -30 C. This is -22 F. Despite the cold, car sales continue and three went out this past week. I go out each morning in an attempt to start them; so far so good.

This has been an eventful week. It began on Sunday evening when I backed into the bumper of another person’s car. In my own defense, there was a glare from the lights and the windows were covered with frost. Yah, I know; why hadn’t I taken time to scrape off the back windows more thoroughly. We were at a Stake Choir practice and when it was over, I thought I would do Kathy and some others who rode with us a favor by backing the car over to the sidewalk so they wouldn’t have to walk so far in the cold. While I deal with missionary accidents each week, I never expected to have one of my own but I did. Thank goodness I know a guy! The repairs on the damaged car (confined to a big scrape to the fender) will begin tomorrow and be completed by the following day. The damage to our car was a bit more extensive and so is the estimated cost of repair.

Early Tuesday morning we were informed of the arrival of grandchild #29, little boy Whicker. Mother and son are doing well except for some elevated bilirubin for which he is successfully receiving phototherapy. The grandchild total, by the way, is a combination of grandchildren from both sides of the family. In any case, we are delighted and are looking forward to more than just pictures when we will be able to see him, and all our grandchildren, in May or June.

Also on Tuesday we were privileged to attend, together with the missionaries from some of the northern zones, a training session conducted by one of the Seventy, Elder Clayton. Elder Clayton and his wife are touring the mission together with President and Sister Miles. The training was very instructive and enjoyed by all the missionaries.

On Wednesday evening, I participated in an “orchestra” practice. I mentioned in last week’s blog that all ward members who had ever played a musical instrument (and could be talked into playing again) were invited to join for one rehearsal (it was probably more than enough) in anticipation of playing for our ward Christmas party. The rehearsal and the actual “performance” was a riot. The music was “The 12 Days of Christmas” with each day assigned to a different instrument. The worse it was played the funnier it was. The “orchestra” consisted of one tenor sax, two clarinets, a baritone, two French horns, two guitars, several kazoos, a keyboard, drums, a triangle, a piano, and a trombone (me). The audience and the band members, when not playing, were in stitches as it was so bad, but it was great fun. It was fun to be reunited again with a trombone. It has been about 48 years since I last attempted to play. Surprisingly, I could remember the slide positions, but my lip was quickly shot.

On Thursday evening we went with another couple as their guests to attend a performance of  “A Christmas Carol”. This was held in a beautiful concert hall downtown. 

Theater - it was filled by the time the show started. Wonderful play!

It has been presented annually for over 30 years. The man who played Scrooge has done it for 23 years. It was excellent. How the story is presented each year is modified a little bit which helps to keep the interest going. It was without a doubt the best performance of this classic story I have seen. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We were able to park in a heated parking garage and walk to the theater in overhead walkways so were never exposed to the extreme cold.

Friday is our usual temple night and we didn’t let the cold deter us. Afterward we went to a Chilis restaurant and enjoyed being in out of the cold.

Yesterday Kathy ventured out into the cold to mail some Christmas cards and gifts. I stayed indoors and ironed while watching the Army-Navy game. I actually enjoy ironing if I have football to watch (otherwise not so much). Football lends itself to doing other things while watching; two or three seconds of action then back to the task at hand. If the play is particularly exciting, one can always watch the replay. Also yesterday was the Ward Christmas party. It was so fun and the food was great. Afterward I came home and watched a recording of the Utah-Xavier basketball game. Unfortunately, both Navy and Utah lost their respective games so bah humbug!

Today, Sunday, was our Stake Christmas Music Festival. It was very well attended and the performances were wonderful. Kathy and I participated in the Stake Choir, which performed the opening and closing numbers. Several of the ward choirs presented numbers, and there were several individual and group performances as well. The weather today was somewhat improved. The high reached all the way to 12 degrees Farenheit!!!

Have a wonderful week.

Blog for December 4, 2016

“Baby it’s cold outside”……..

Wow, close the door; there’s a draft in here! Our nice weather has come to a close and we are looking for Arctic type weather for the next little while. I see from the weather forecasting maps that this will dip way down into the U.S. as well so I guess we are sharing cold weather with all of you to some degree.

On Wednesday we reached our one-year point since we entered the MTC, which is the official start of our mission. The time has truly sped by. The Peppingers go home in February, the Sefciks soon after that, and ours in May. We are beginning to panic somewhat as an office staff as there are no senior couples in the pipeline to replace any of us. This is, of course, of concern to our Mission President and he is turning to local Church leaders to identify some Church service missionaries to be able to work in the office. After our usual Monday morning meeting with President and Sister Miles, we spent some time discussing which couples in our home stake might be contacted and encouraged to put in their papers and come here to serve. You might recall, this is how Kathy and I ended up serving here in this mission; the Miles came to us on a number of occasions prior to their leaving and encouraged us to join them in serving in Canada. So, to all of you living in our home stake and reading this blog, be aware, - you might well receive a call from President and Sister Miles with a special invitation! And if you are reading this and not in the Granite View Stake and are considering serving, just call, email, or write and we will get the ball rolling. It would be really great to actually have an opportunity to train our replacements. Coming in after the preceding couple have gone home and having to start from scratch isn’t nearly as much fun as gleaning from the previous couple. 

And speaking of the work, again this past week has been so busy, at least for me. In the last blog I mentioned all the older cars we brought up from the south part of the mission; these now are being prepped for sale. This means a close inspection of each and a record made of what needs to be done, then arranging for our body and fender guy to meet me where the cars are being kept and giving me an estimate for each. Some need oil changes and new windshields and replacement tires. Three of the five cars we brought up from down south have hail damage to some degree, and hail damage is always a complicating factor for moving them out of the fleet, - will the Church want to have the hail damaged repaired, sell the car “as is”, or will it be declared a loss (totaled). The process of documenting the damage, arranging for the estimate and pictures, discussing each car with Fleet officials and what to do to get them sold greatly extends the time until the disposal of the car and consequently to my workload. Once the decision for disposal has been made, except for when the vehicle is totaled, then it has to be advertised (and this generates lots of phone calls) and taking time to show the cars to potential customers when they come to see and drive the vehicles. Indeed I can say, I would not want to go home at the end of the mission and go to work as a used car salesman. I will be glad to not get any more new vehicles for a time; I’ll eventually get caught up and then it can be time again. 

As for experiences not directly related to work, on Tuesday evening we went with the other office couples and another couple to Stage West. 

Last spring some of you might recall we went to Stage West and enjoyed it and have been looking forward to going again. Stage West is a live dinner show. The performance we saw on Tuesday runs for several more weeks and then another show comes in. The show we saw is called “Hollywood Hits – Songs that Rocked the Movies”. It was very well done and we enjoyed it a lot. Overall the performance was somewhat better than the previous show we saw. That one featured Rock and Roll favorites. The dinner at Stage West is served buffet style and quite vast. The problem as before is getting too full too fast. Maybe we will have an opportunity to go again before we leave in May.

As I have mentioned before, Saturdays are our P-days. We got up and did our apartment cleaning and clothes washing, then went to a local indoor farmer’s market. It is huge! All around the perimeter of the building are stalls of varying dimensions which feature fresh fruits, vegetables, and other produce. The rest of the displays are along aisles that run from end to end of the building and feature common to more exotic meats, cheeses, specialty foods, ethnic foods, and arts and crafts. Interspersed among the inner aisles, and to some degree the outer as well, are booths selling a wide variety of prepared foods. There were a number of musical groups singing Christmas carols and other songs and even a few individual performers so it was quite festive. We enjoyed a bagel sandwich while there and bought some fruit and vegetables. I’m sure we will go back again soon.

Kathy and I are participating in both the ward and stake choirs, and we will be singing a duet in each of the Christmas get-togethers with the missionaries and in our ward on Christmas day, which will be a Christmas musical program together with another ward that also meets in our building. Our ward Christmas party is on the 10^th and the Stake Christmas Music Festival is on the 11^th so “tis the season”. A request was made for our ward party for people to sign up to play in an "orchestra" being put together. The issue is not if one can play well, only if one had ever played a musical instrument, even if only as a youth. I guess they have something really crazy planned which is “guaranteed to be a lot of fun”. I haven’t touched a trombone for lots of years and I certainly don’t have mine here, but they said they would get any instruments that were needed so I signed up. I know of at least a French Horn, a clarinet, a trumpet, and a few guitar players are also on the list. We will have just one rehearsal before the main event and that is primarily just to pass out the music so it should be pretty wild. I will have more on this next week.

We are about to add grandchild #29, but before you get too excited about this number, this is a combination of both mine and Kathy’s families. My daughter, Tana, will be induced early tomorrow morning if she doesn’t go into labor in the meantime. We will be anxiously awaiting word.

Well, we must be off to our Stake Choir practice so, may your Christmas plans and preparations be a delight and not Bah Humbug! Let us not forget what Christmas is intended to commemorate. I bear testimony of the existence of Jesus Christ and the importance of His mission on earth, “to save us all from Satan’s power when we have gone astray, Oh, tidings of comfort and joy!” Pretty well sums it up. 

Have a wonderful week.