January 17 2013 awaiting visas

It’s getting harder to go to church and other places and have people ask “Are you still here?”, but we did enjoy stake conference this last weekend.  The new LDS Institute choir, Latter-day Voices, sang in the Saturday evening session, and was really magnificent.  The sopranos soared on the last number, “Oh, Divine Redeemer”, the beautiful pleading prayer by Gounod, and we felt blessed.

Monti was feeling a little down last week, and sent a note to a friend who sent back an encouraging word suggesting we take the time now to enjoy the things here we can’t enjoy in Spain—the beautiful snow, playing our beautiful piano, etc.  It was good advice.  There was a really beautiful snowstorm last week.  Friends who live about a block away invited us to dinner one night, and we chose to walk--on pristine snow, without a tire mark or footprint on it.  As we returned around midnight the snow was still falling gently.  We surprised four deer in front of the neighbor's house, and watched them circle a big fir tree and leap gracefully over a tall fence.  The next morning the snowplow heaped up a six foot high pile of snow on one side of the cul-de-sac and four foot high mound on the other.  It has been bitterly cold, below zero (-17*C).  If the snow disappears this week it will be because it has freeze-dried!  

While waiting for it to warm up we have been walking in the mall, and in the supermarket.  Yesterday it got all the way to 17 *F (-8*C), so we decided to enjoy the outdoors.  With the fog, the sky was an arc of bright white, and tiny snowflakes were distilling in the air.  It was beautiful.

The Logan Temple is open again.   Hooray!  We have so far attended an endowment session, and assisted in sealings.  This weekend we travel to California to attend a grandson's priesthood ordination.