April

We went for a walk with the Elders and Sisters the other day.  The talk drifted to dealing with "Change".  That was natural because our District Leader is heading home to Belgium this week and one of our sisters is going back to Montreal.   They asked how long we had and I said ...  Oh we have a while we have almost 3 months left...  and one of them said...  oh my that is less than 2 transfers.  I almost had a panic attack!!!  3 months is a long time...  1 transfer and a few weeks is not long at all!!!!   I had better get moving on reaching my goals.  The deadline is coming way to fast!!!

And talk about fast.  Didn't we just start April?  How did I get to be the end of April already?

We are still going to the temple every Friday.  We have been able to take some members who where just baptized, some who are going for the first time after being baptized for a while, and some who like to go regularly.  It makes for a wonderful way to finish the week.

Conference was absolutely wonderful.  It always is, but this April seemed to be directed especially to topics I needed.

Some of our favorite quotes:

*Don't be a victim twice by carrying around the hate, pain, etc.
*Win with grace, Loose with grace.
*Our genuine concern should be for the success of others.
*Life isn't fair.  If it was truly fair, we couldn't be saved.
*Family council meetings are the best defense against the evils of the internet.
*Choose the harder right....  instead of the easier wrong.
*Choose Faith over doubt.
*You know it - do you believe it? - Do you live it?
*Forgive yourself.  Don't dwell on your faults.
*It doesn't matter how bad things are or how bad you think you are...God can fix it.
*You are worthy of His love - just because He loves you
                    - there is no other requirement.
*The more distractions around us the easier to make bad choices and loose faith.
*Agency and opposition are central-only Satan wanted everything perfectly equal.
*If you did find the perfect women-do you really think she would want you?
                           (to single men looking for the perfect wife)
*The Lord blesses those who WANT to improve. You get credit for trying.
*See yourself in the Temple.

Some of those are not direct quotes, they are what we had in our notes...but you get the idea...  right?

The 16th was a wonderful day.  We have a family who recently moved here from Peru.  She was the only member in her family.  On the 16th both her husband and her 9 year old son were baptized.  It was a beautiful event.  We are blessed to have this beautiful family joining our ward.

 Elder Blake and Elder Thomas, Brother Salvador, Abel and Gloria, Sister Guzman, Sr. Areola, Sister Richards.

Andre, his 2 bothers. (a sneek in from another family :)

Those who were in attendance at the baptism.

 Elder Petersen had his big "65" birthday on the 23rd.  It started with a morning of missionary work.  He spent about 3 hours with a member of the bishopric and one of the Elders visiting members.

After I got home from doing the same thing (but with different people) we went to lunch to celebrate his wonderful life.  He is an amazing person and I am blessed to be able to spend not only this life but the eternities with him.

We have been eyeing a restaurant downtown called "Cafe Bla Bla"  and it means the same thing in French as it does in English....  bla, bla, bla.  It was like a French Bistro.  He had a great 3 bean chili and we shared a Swiss burger.  Quite the birthday dinner.  After, we decided to take a walk in one of local parks.  I was unaware that instead of doing our regular walk around the swamp, he wanted to head to the top of the mountain.   So, here I am in my dress and carrying my purse and heading up the trail to the mountain top.  But, what the heck.....  it's his birthday...   he can do what he wants...  right!!

Sunday we got a new bishop and bishopric.  The bishop we have been working with has been in 5 years and was released.  He is a great man and is going to be missed.  The new bishop is 32 years old and has 2 little ones (under 5) and one on the way.  He is going to have his hands full!!!  But he is a good man and will do a great job.

Monday was the last P day for our District leader before he went home to Belgium.  He wanted to hike Mount Pinacle.  So we did.  (Yes that makes 2 big hikes in 3 days...  and my legs survived!)


It is always fun to run into a grove of Maple trees.  There are everywhere around here, and a lot of them don't use the old tin bucket to gather the maple, they use blue tubing that gathers it,  runs it into  larger black tubing, then it runs to the gathering bucket...  or in large operations...  gathering tank.

 Even looking up this beautiful creek you can see the blue and black tubing.

We decided to take the shortest trail up.  Oh...  it also happened to be the steepest... It was a work out, but we made it.

The view from the top of the Pinacle is stunning.  You can see the USA in the background, the lake is huge and a long ways down, and the valley is breathtaking.

The missionaries had to go out on the rock.  I threatened them with their lives if they went out on the point...  they wanted to...  but they respected my PANIC.

 Down the trail and around the corner was another lake.  They decided this was there private little heaven and wanted to just chill for a while.  I didn't object.

 Further down the trail we found this frozen waterfall.  They are quite common around here during the winter, but it is late enough in the year that most of them have melted.  But, this one was on the North side of the mountain and must have been sheltered enough so that it was still there and even had some new ice cycles that were forming.

 

 Elder Petersen decided that it was time for a little refreshment...  I hope it is clean!

 Back down the mountain we went.  It was a good day with good people.  These missionaries work really hard at doing what they were sent here to do.  It was a nice day to enjoy the creations of their Lord, whom they have devoted their lives to.

 

The Three Musketeers.  Can you tell which one is 65?

 

 Happy Spring to all of you.   Life is wonderful here and we hope it is where you are, also.  God Bless.

Winter Activities

What a wonderful winter this has been.   The weather has been mild compared to last year, Missionary work is doing really well, and We have had some wonderful experiences with family, friends, and missionaries (some of those overlap!!!)  So let's see if I can get it all into one blog without getting TOOO  long.

We will start with proof that we have been using our car A LOT.   We have a pretty big area that is within our Ward - 50 miles in every direction so that alone gives us a lot of miles on the SUV.  Then we go to the Temple (165k = 102 miles each way) every Friday, take the missionaries to Quebec (216k=134miles ea way) every zone mtg, as well as regular ward and mission functions.  So in Feb our sweet ride passed the 111,111 mile mark.  That was a couple of months ago we still have 3 more to go, so after driving home in July - taking the long way home to see the sites of Canada -  it will be well past the 125k mark by the time we get home.   What a great car it has been.   It has been a dedicated vehicle missionary.

Our celebration of Valentines was unique and fun.  We invited one of our favorite families over for dinner.  After dinner we told the Mom and Dad that we were going to watch their 9 year old so they could go out for a Valentine Date.  They work on different schedules - so their opportunity to have date time is really rare...   They thought this was awesome, so we played games with their son, while they headed out on the town.  It was a good night.

When we decided to go to the temple each Friday we told the ward that we would be going and invited anyone who needed a ride.  It has been fun to take some wonderful people with us.  Mostly they are single or older women who don't drive - or don't want to drive that far.   Taking these women who haven't been to the temple either - ever - or since before the temple closed a year and a half ago,  watching their sweet faces as they enter the temple is a joy.   One particularly touched our hearts when she was almost giddy as we left  - saying it was the best day of her life.  We love the temple and we love going with others and feeling their love for it also.

The end of February and beginning of March was a really busy time for us. It started with a Relief Society Brunch.  We were needing a Visiting Teaching Shot in the arm and we decided this would be a great way to do it.  We showed a video that was really funny (but too often true) about good and bad ways of getting it done.  Then served a Cabane à Sucre type brunch.  You will hear more about what a Cabane à Sucre is later....  just know that is it PURE QUEBEQUOIS - and includes LOTS of Maple Syrup.

(for those of you who don't know what Visiting Teaching is.... here is a brief summery.  It is a program where sisters in the ward are assigned 2-4 other sisters in the ward to visit every month with another sister.  So, 2 sisters visit one sister monthly - give her a spiritual message, see how she is doing, and see if there is anything they can do for her.)  It is a beautiful program, that -- when it is working right, bonds the women together and they support and love each other.

It tasted a lot better than it looked.

The week of March 28 to the 7th of Feb was CRAZY!!   

First --- I found out that I could continue my French Tutoring that I started before we came on our mission. (why I didn't know that a year ago - I don't know.  It would have been helpful) But, I decided to go ahead and push to the end and started with the Tutor all over again.  

Second -- I think we have mentioned that Elder Petersen is a member of the Ecumenical Council of Sherbrooke.  It is a group of religious leaders who get together to learn to understand each other and to do good things for the community. Friday the 4th was the World Wide Day of Prayer and this years program was written by the Cuban Committee and entitled "Receive Children. Receive Me".  Elder Petersen was the English reader.  They had French, Spanish, and English Readers.  It was pretty cool to see all the religions come together to do something good.

Third ---- We have been trying to get the ward to do a talent show since shortly after we got here.  There are so many talented people and a lot of them only see each other on Sunday, so they really don't know a lot about each other.  We finally got permission to have one and it was on the 5th of March.  It was a lot of work putting it together, talking people into submitting things that they had done, or preparing to share a talent on the "stage", getting volunteers to help collect and take down, and all the other things that go along with an event like that.  It was amazing.  It was so fun to hear people talking to each other and say things like "Wow, I didn't know you could do that...  that is awesome".  I think it really brought them a little closer together.

This is before it started - and after we finished setting up.  We were holding our breath, we had no clue how many people would really show up.

Then they started coming! We ended up with a full house.

Here is just a sample of what some of the talents were:

Wood carving

Karate

 Hula Dancing

Ukulele accompaning..... 

 Our YW President doing a traditional island dance

Knitting

Loving

This is our Bishop's wife and her tole painting

Legos (9 years)

Painting

Sketching and sewing

 Coloring (5 years old)

Drawing

 Our Oldest artist - 71 - Painting and Stained glass

                                                        

Healthy living

Karate Metals

Cooking.  We had a few yummies...... that after the show...  we ate them!!

 She is a pastry  chef....  can you tell?

These were made by a 4 year old.  They had a video showing him doing it.

Reading Books

Computer enhanced photos

Traditional dance

Family History

 and our awesome Master of Ceremonies

We ended up having 6 investigators, 7 less actives and  over 75 people there.  So in all, I think it was successful.

Fourth -----  Since it was the first Sunday of the Month....  it was my turn to teach the lesson in Relief Society.   This is a little (NO A LOT) stressful for me, since it has to be done in French.  Since this is my 4th time to do it...  I got a little smarter this time. (The old saying is to work smarter, not harder...  right!!  and with Elder Petersen's encouragement...  I did)  So this time I got some sisters in the ward to address some of the items in the lesson that I wanted covered.  I ended up only having to speak about 10 of the 40 minutes.... Wahoo!

Fifth ---  About 2 weeks ago we go a call from our Grandson Jeremy (the one whose marriage you saw pictures of on the computer screen in the last blog) and he asked "what would you think if Dominique and I got baptized on the 12th of this month?"....   ummm  let me think about this......   ZIPPIDY DOO DAH!!!   What a great phone call.  Since we missed their wedding (they only gave us 5 days notice) and have attended the other baptisms in the family during the last year....   we just had to go..... right!!!   So Our tickets were bought and after that weekend was over...  we packed our bags and on Tuesday we headed to California.  What a great reason to go.  AND ---  What a great excuse to see that baby, and to get out of the cold for a few days.  We were gone for 8 days and it was a wonderful week.  

Before we left - we have a tradition, that we fix breakfast for the Missionaries in our District on the morning of transfers, if someone is leaving.  Well, Transfers were going to happen while we were gone, so we had breakfast on Monday, just in case....  

 It was a good thing that we did, because Sister A (next to Elder Pete) left us.   She will be missed.

We got dumped on the day before we left.  It was perfect snow, and Elder Pete couldn't help making a snowman....   cute.

AHHH....   California.  What a contrast, Right? !   the tulips were out and the grass was green.  Elder Pete loved getting out in the garden and getting his hands dirty.  He also picked a lot of oranges off of their tree and we had gallons of fresh orange juice.

One of the places in Sacramento that was on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"  is a place called "Squeeze Inn"  It used to be in a little -one counter- place, but has since moved to a little bigger space... so you no longer have to squeeze in to get a seat.  But the food is still pretty much the same as the time we went a few years back.  If you notice on Jeremy's burger that it has a yellow "skirt"?  That is all cheese.  They put this huge handful of shredded cheese on the burger just before it has finished cooking and it melts all over it and the grill....  they let it sit there long enough to crisp up, and then it comes to you.  Pretty amazing burger.

 Dani and J's family.  Kids, and both sets of parents. (well I am taking the pic....  but I am there)

 I love watching my girls and their mothering.  They are wonderful women and they do a great job.

Dani is one year into it and she has a 8 month old, an 18 year old and a 19 year old.  She is learning fast and doing a great job.  We are very proud of her.

 like most of us....  she has her sad days....

 and her happy days.  With this child...   it is more happy than sad!!

The big day finally arrived.  Here is the whole family together.  Aren't they beautiful!  J got to Baptize Jeremy.  Dominique was baptized by J's nephew.  He is 18 and was just made a priest.  So it was a big day for everyone.

 Jeremy and Dominique and their missionaries.

Eating breakfast (and most other meals) with Grandpa.

Grandpa helping J&D clean their new car.  A Cougar.  Elder Pete had a Cougar when we got married.  It brought back good memories.

The park is only a couple of blocks away...  so we went there a few times.   2-6 adults and one cute munchkin.....   she won't be spoiled....   will she?

Whew...   it is getting long isn't it.  Well we are almost to the end of the month.  So Hang on..  You are almost there.

Our flight home had a little fun added to it.   Kim and Grma Iris *MOM* were coming out to visit and had their tickets bought a long time ago.  They were coming from SLC and we were coming from Sacramento.  As it turned out both of our flights routed through Detroit and we were on the same flight from there to Montreal.  Is that cool or what.  It was really good to have them there...  it made missing the ones in Sacramento a little easier to handle.

I have been tying my hand at crocheting...  I need to do something on those long car rides -  so I have been doing slippers, hats, purses, and lots of other stuff....  I shared some of the slippers with Mom and Kim, to keep their little tootsies warm on our wood floors.

We did a lot of driving while they were here...  and on one of the back roads we saw these huge slabs of white....  at first we thought they were rocks...  but there is a whole forest of them (look in the trees) we finally decided that they were ice.  When the river flooded a few weeks back, it must have frozen and when it receded it left these blocks of ice that had been floating on the river.   Strange. 

We took them to the Library in Standstead/Derby Line.  Remember - it is the library that is built with the USA/Canada border going right through the middle of it.  Here is Mom and Kim doing their border straddle.....

One of the days that they were here we went to the temple, and then went into Montreal to the Olympic Park and went to the top of the Montreal Tower.

The Montréal Tower

It will take your breath away!

At 165 metres, the Montréal Tower is the tallest inclined tower in the world! Its 45-degree angle is awe-inspiring, especially when you consider that the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s tilt is only 5 degrees!

From its summit, visitors can admire the entire Greater Montreal region and up to 80 kilometres of the St. Lawrence River valley. 

A common question from visitors is how can a structure with an incline as dramatic as the Montreal Tower stand?

The answer to this riddle lies in mass ratio: the top of the tower has a mass of 8,000 tonnes which is permanently attached to the infrastructure and the solid concrete base buried ten metres below ground level. This base has a mass of 145,000 tonnes, or the equivalent of three aircraft carriers!

Visitors can reach the top of the Montréal Tower on a mesmerizing climb in a glass-encased funicular that holds up to 76 passengers.

The funicular is the only one in the world that operates on a curved structure. It has a hydraulic system that allows the cabin to remain horizontal during the two-minute ride to the top. (quoted from the website...  they could say it better than I could.)

Above is the Funicular from the outside and below is our view going up - from inside.  As you can see we are going backwards....  looking out the front windows as it slides up the Tower.

We could see the temple and the whole island from the top.   It was a great view.

Saturday we went to a sugar shack.  It is also called  Cabane à Sucre. There are a lot of them around and this year we went to the one at the top of the page.  It was larger than the one we went to last year.  Most Cabanes are on or near a Maple grove where maple is harvested.  They usually serve a breakfast meal starting off with Split pea soup. Then they have ham, sausages, baked beans, eggs (either scrambled or a baked omelet square), hash browns, pork rinds, coleslaw, rolls, and crepes. Yep...  that is all in ONE meal. Oh - and don't forget the MAPLE.  There will be a big bottle of it on the table and the locals will drown the whole meal in it.  Yes, everything.

 Then if you are not full enough - they bring out dessert.  Usually sugar pie (like pecan pie without the pecans) and Poor Man's Pudding - a pudding cake drowned in maple syrup.

 After the meal is over you get to go do "Sugar on Snow". and that is exactly what it is.  They boil the syrup until it is just the right consistancy (I am guessing Hard Ball Stage) and then they pour it onto snow.  You take your stick and roll the maple onto your stick and you have - instant sucker.  You do NOT go home hungry -  or in need of sweets

We decided to go for a walk around lake Memphremagog - a beautiful lake in Magog, between Sherbrooke and where the Cabane was....   but it was so cold, that I only got a pic of the three of them and then back to the car....  fast.

Kim wanted to see the downtown walks along the river and across the dams.  Since these are our favorite walks....  here is what they look like in winter with high water runoff ....

Mom loved the rainbow.

I know we have shown you the murals that are on buildings down town before....  but it is always fun to see them through someone else's eyes.

Don't pull too hard Kim....   

It looks so real, it is hard to tell where the real brick ends and the painted brick starts.

Another favorite place to take people is St Benois de Lac.  It is a monastery on the Memphimagog  Lake.  It is a beautiful edifice and they have excellent cheese, apple products, chocolate, etc, etc for sale.  I have been looking for a Nativity for the last year to represent Sherbrooke in my collection.  They had this beautiful one there...  I loved it and Elder Pete bought it for me.  Thank You Love.

Mom in the hall at the Monastery.

In the last blog we took the missionaries to the "Hotel Glace" or the Ice Hotel.  Even thought it is a couple hours away, we decided it was worth the drive to show Mom and Kim.  It only had a couple of days left before the season was over, and we could tell that it was starting to melt.  But, it was still a beautiful piece of art and fun....

On the tour......

Remember - the ice slide?  Well I got one coming down this time.

the Hippo room

Mom on the bed in the Alaskan River Room.

Then trying to get off the bed...  it is tricky with the ice, blankets, and all.

In the Chapel

The Elephant room

Frozen apples in the ice tree

When we came here with Dani 16 years ago, we loved Montmorency Falls. So we really wanted to go again.  It is hard to tell perspective, but trust me --  they are huge.  We started at the visitors center (closed) but we got to go out on the walkway.  Notice the walking bridge over the falls, the people walking on the snow behind Mom's head at the foot of the mountain, and the stairs going up the crest of the mountain right above her head. 

Yes those little black dots on the ice are people.  We decided we would drive to the top and see if we could do the bridge.

Can you see the line going in front of Elder Pete?  That is a Zip line!!!!  How cool would that be.  He wants to come back in the summer and try it.  (Can Missionaries do that???) 

This gives a little better perspective of the lines, the bridge, and the falls

At the bar at the Ice Hotel they served their drinks in ice cups.  We didn't get any there, but they sold a mold at the gift shop....  so we got one and when we got home.....   we made our own ice cups and had a toast.

It was a sad day when we had to take them back to the airport. It was wonderful having them here and sharing our Quebec life.  We are blessed to have family that is so fun and easy to be around.  Since we will see them again in 3 months I kept telling myself it was OK for them to leave.

So....  to finish off this blog, we finish with 3 more Sugar Shacks.  Yes, I am afraid that is true.

We invited all the senior missionaries and the President and his family to meet at the same one we went to last week with Mom and Kim.  They loved it. They came from all over the mission.  North from Quebec, West from Ottowa, and from the big city of Montreal.   It is a big hall, so there was plenty of room.  We got one table just for us and there was over 20 of us at the table.  

Then our friend invited us to her family Sugaring event.  They boil the sugar at home and have a great family reunion doing sugar on snow and sugar dipping. 

 And the last one that we went to (we were invited to a couple of others- but one can only do so much maple) was with the ward.  Last year the Bishop's wife organized one for the missionaries and a few families came too.  This year she did the same, but there were a lot more families that came.  It was really fun.  The meal is served buffet here instead of family style, but it is basically the same menu with homemade relish, green ketchup, and fruit ketchup added.

Sugar on snow was a lot more crowded this year, with so many people there.  But the competition was still a go. The bishop (in the blue coat) Considers himself a maple specialist and prides himself in the fact that he can put down 11 of the sugar on snow dips. (I did 1 - in case you were wondering)  But the challenge was accepted by a couple of the missionaries this year and they buried him.

Sr Guzman (in the center behind Sr Richards) and Elder Thomas (2nd from R behind Elder Blake) each put down 18 of those babies!!!  They had set a goal for 20, but we had to leave before they could get the last two.  I don't know how they did it....   that is a lot of Maple!!!

Well....  our  Maple Season has come to an end.  It was a wonderful season, filled with lots of wonderful people.  We are truly blessed.   We send you our love .