John and Karen in the Canada Montreal Mission

  Spring might be coming!  It was only 41 F and overcast but we decided to chance a walk outdoors on Saturday.  Part of the walk was along the Châteauguay River and was a little windy and cool.  The route we followed was about 2.5 miles.  We enjoyed walking along the river and through the neighborhoods. We saw a lot of Canadian geese on the river.  The water is very high right now.  Too bad we can't send some of it to Utah to help with the drought situation.  We are looking forward to many more outdoor adventures, eventually.  It was snowing again this morning. We found a private clinic in Kirkland to do John's EKG.  It was a 35 minute drive each way but in a area we hadn't yet explored so didn't mind the drive.  All his medical tests have come back normal.  That's a good thing except we have no clue what is causing the dizziness.  He is having some good days where he doesn't notice anything unusual.  Another day he ...

More mission statistics from a meeting with President and Sister Harkness this week.  Some of it will probably be a repeat of what I previously wrote. 6 provinces 1 territory 2 countries (United States and Canada) 3 time zones 4 languages: English, French, Spanish, Mandarin 12 million population 6 stakes 2 districts 6 missionary zones 205 young missionaries 35 senior missionaries We attended way-too-early morning online Seminary this week to see how the current teacher is doing the class.  We are trying to learn some Zoom tricks so we can share and teach effectively.  We are secretly hoping the Benson's baby comes about two months over due. One of the interesting and fun things about living someplace new is discovering how common things are accomplished differently than what we are used to.  We take our trash down to the receptacles in front of the apartment building. We think they are much more attractive than metal dumpsters.  Some are for trash, others for re...

 My best 93-year-old friend took pity on me when she read about my hot pad dilemma a couple weeks ago.  She asked her daughter mail some of her (the daughter's) awesome hand made hot pads to me.  They arrived this week and were put to use immediately when I baked muffins and cookies on Friday. And I'm sorry but there won't be anymore kneeling to vacuum stories.  We complained enough that the sister over housing bought us a brand new vacuum.  I have to find something else to complain about! We are continuing to visit with older ward members.  We are amazed at the diversity in this ward.  The three sisters we visited this week are from Trinidad and Barbados.  One of the sisters is the ward "baker."  She provides homemade bread for the Sacrament each week.  She sent us home with a loaf of fresh bread that was soooo good! The young couple in the ward that teach early morning Seminary are expecting a baby in three weeks.  They asked to t...

 A few updates for the week: One young Elder's coat needed some mending so while I had the sewing machine out, I quickly put the hot pads together.  I had previously cut the fabric but using the machine is a major effort, as there is no where to use it except the one table.  I have to time it between eating, studying or whatever else we might be doing at the table. We finally received the vacuum bags we ordered a month ago (no longer sold in the stores here).  We got the vacuum out and discovered a section of hose is missing; also a wheel on the bottom of the brush attachment.  You must bend over to vacuum, which makes my back ache, or vacuum on your knees, which is John's preferred method. There's no way I would tolerate this at home.  So why do we do it while on a mission?  It's just one of the many small sacrifices (and I hesitate to even call it a sacrifice) that missionaries make to serve.  Inconvenience is probably a better word; it's never ...