Surprise! Early Winter

Friday, November 9  High 32 SNOW

It was too cold to work outdoors.  Richard brought in boxes of long pine cones.  Not North Carolina little pine cones, but Northwest big pine cones.  Earlier in the month we made ribbons.  Now we tied the pine cones to the ribbons.

Bows filled these shelves. 

Sister Dare attaching a cone to a bow. 

We also dumped coleus that Sister Archibald and Sister Christensen had nurtured all last year.  We had a funeral for them. It was so sad.

Sister Christensen saying good-bye.

Coleus dumped

Saturday, November 10 High 31  windy
Saturday the snow was beautiful, but it was too cold and windy to be outside. We could hear the wind blowing around the house.  I took a short walk to the library to get some Thanksgiving books to read to my 3 year old grandson, Gideon.  He calls while his mom is making dinner and we read stories.  Then I baked chocolate chip cookies and Dee made his first from scratch hushpuppies.  I told him I'd bake cookies whenever it snowed. As you will see, I may not follow that plan.

Sunday, November 11  High 31 sunny
Sunday was cold and sunny.  Where did Fall go?  What has Mother Nature done with it?  But for the first time we could see the temple and the river from our house.

From our front porch

Our front yard.  

From the FM compound

Fall and Winter collide

Last week we had regional conference, so this was our first Sunday without the young sister missionaries  (YSM).  Church seemed so empty.  Since we came in September many senior missionaries have gone home and now the YSM are out serving in proselyting missions.  I wondered what Sunday School and Relief Society would be like with the YSM making comments.  The meetings were slower paced, but the discussions were still good.  I think we'll be OK until they are welcomed back in the Spring.  We also became better acquainted with a new missionary couple.  As we talked Dee and Sister Mensel discovered they grew up in the same ward!

The Flanders, from Farmington UT,  invited us to a delicious roast beef dinner Sunday evening.  They are living in one of the original Nauvoo houses.  On the outside is German writing.  I'll get a photo of it  soon.

Monday, November 12.  TODAY - still very cold, high 32.  AND MORE SNOW
But this time no chocolate chip cookies. I'm counting this as the same snow.

Notice how bundled up we are. 

Ice from wheel barrows left outside.

Grass in the snow

The forecast says it will start to get back to normal fall temperatures by the end of the week.  I love winter, but I wasn't quite ready for it.  Come back, Winter, in about 6 weeks please.