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This is a sunset scene looking eastward down our street toward Spanish Fork Peak/Sierra Bonita/Maple Mountain. We have had our fill of snow and cold. There are piles of snow several feet high where people have pushed the snow when clearing their driveways with their little ATVs or riding mowers (Johnny Deere) with plow blades. I still am feeling not "in the mode" having only now a snowblower to manage the snow on our property. What an injustice--I have to walk behind my machine.
And the cold continues. We think that we are approaching three weeks since the last time that the temperature was above 32 degrees. And we had a huge snowstorm in the middle of this cold spell. It reminds me of my mission winter in Dauphin, Manitoba, where we had more than 90 days of freeze-up. The temperature dipped below 32 degrees mid November and we didn't see a day with thawing until late February.
We had another pipe-freeze episode a few days ago. We got home about 11:30 pm from a get-to-gether with Wendy's sibs in SL, having been away since about 3 pm, and there was again no water flowing in the house. We knew just what to do--get out the hairdryer and warm the inlet pipe that is in the cold west wall of the house. After about 25 minutes the water flowed again. What a relief!! We resolved that with the temperature well below freezing that we would never again go away for an extended time (maybe more than three hours?) or go to bed without leaving the kitchen faucet dripping.
We have now added stars to our family Eagle display for Jeremy and Justin. Hopefully, we will be able to add many other stars.
This of course is Grandma JoAnn’s Eagle Mother scarf. I am confident that she is very pleased by these accomplishments of her grandsons and is happy to donate her scarf for this purpose.
I recall a time after Nathan had finished his Eagle when she came through the door into our ward cultural hall wearing this scarf. Earl Mullennax was present and he jumped to attention, gave her military salute, and said, “Here comes a four star mother.” Very true.
Now she is a four star mother and an eight star grandmother– and counting...
It has been very
cold here. Our car thermometer said as low at minus 4 degrees as we
drove to the temple Friday morning, starting about 5:30 am. The daytime
highs have been below 20 degrees. When we got home from the temple at
about at about 2:45 pm, we had no running water. I talked this through
with Matthew, then first checked with a couple of neighbors to find that
they had running water in order to rule out that the city had shut down
our water line. Since none of
the faucets were delivering water, it was apparent that there was
blockage in the water line before it reached the distribution point
which is in the wall in our laundry room. The water line to our house
comes in from 820 East to the east side of our house, and there is an
inside shutoff valve low in the west wall of the downstairs family
room. Matthew reasoned that the most likely place for the intake line
to freeze would be in the pipe beyond the shutoff valve that first rises
to basement ceiling level then travels along the out side wall for a
few feet until it turns inward at the middle of the house to go to the
distribution point. The line in from the street is buried under several
feet of soil and would not be exposed to the cold temperature.
We
decide to get a plumber to our house to restore water and were able to
find one who arrived by about 5 pm. He said that he was confident that
the freezing was in the main shutoff valve out by the street. In their
experience, this is by far the most common place for water line
freezing, as there is only a metal plate to protect the line from cold
temperatures. We located valve cover under the snow. He removed the
cover, then stretched a power cord out to the place and plugged in a
hair blow dryer and started the de-freezing process. After about an
hour of heating this valve, he looked further inside at the line that
beyond the inside shutoff that Matthew had fingered as the problem
area. Wendy loaned him her hair dryer and he began to heat that line up
from the inside shutoff valve. Apparently both the line at the outside
valve and the line along the cold wall beyond the inside valve were
frozen. Eventually the blockage in the outside line thawed and then
added some pluggage to the inside freeze-up. At about 7:30 pm we heard a
roaring noise at the kitchen faucet that we had kept wide open and then
the water appeared.
We were quite relieved to have water
again. It was a good reminder of how precarious and essential this kind
of resource is and of the need to store water, food, and other
supplies, for emergencies of all sorts.
Our plumber thought that
the freeze-up probably started at the outside valve and then with no
movement in the line the inside freeze-up followed. He suggested that
we get some insulation (of the kind that goes in walls) and use it to
fill up the cavity between the cover and the outside shutoff valve as a
way to help prevent this from happening again.
Wendy and I have added a second temple shift in the Provo Temple, early mornings on Friday (Shift 1). It takes 21 shifts to operate the temple, four each for Tuesday through Saturday and an early morning shift on Monday. Each shift requires perhaps 60-70 men and 70-80 women to cover all the needed assignments. Most all of the shifts are shorthanded, and we felt we were capable of doing more.
Before Wendy’s assignment as Asst. Shift Coordinator for the women on Thursday Shift 2, we did both Shift 1 and Shift 2 on Thursdays. She had a couple of hours of preparation meetings for her assignment on Shift 2, so we had to give up Shift 1. On Thursdays Wendy needs to arrive at the Temple before 9 am preparing for the shift which covers the hours 11 am to 4 pm. I sometimes use the extra two hours to make a visit to Nathan and Gloria, to do family initiatories, or go up to third floor and help Shift 1 with officiating at the veil.
For Friday Shift 1, we need to be at the temple and dressed for a 6:20 preparation meeting. The shift ends at 11 am. After finishing the shift, we had lunch in the temple cafeteria and then did our weekly family endowment session.
This shift is very low on numbers of workers, compared to either of our Thursday shifts. We are needed.
Also, we were a little surprised at how different the procedures were for Friday Shift 1 compared to what we have been used to. The comparison is quite interesting to us. I have always been a kind of a procedures person, interested in what ways of doing things are most efficient and effective. Wendy and I have lots to talk about.
As an assignment in connection with my calling as a member of the Stake Young Mens Presidency, Wendy and I served as chaperones for an area youth New Years Eve dance last evening. We were pleased to see Megan, Erin, and Jeremy in attendance.
The music was very loud, which made me grateful to be a wearer of hearing aids. I found a simple way to cut the volume down to a level that I could tolerate without pain–I simply turned the hearing aids off.
This Christmas set the records for me for the number of books I was given as gifts, eight, counting two puzzle books. I look forward to a rich year of reading. Thank you all.
Doctrine and Covenants Reference Companion, edited by Dennis Largey and Larry Dahl. This is a very large encyclopedic dictionary of the D&C reference made up of 885 topical entries by top LDS scholars, mostly BYU religion faculty. It has some personal attraction, as we have gotten to know well and appreciate Larry Dahl who is currently serving as a counselor in our Provo temple Presidency.
The American Covenant: One Nation Under God, Vol. II, by Timothy Ballard. This is Valerie’s recommendation. The author is LDS and a retired CIA agent, who presents his research on the spiritual bases for this county, its constitution, and the lives of its founders and leaders.
Dews of Heaven: Answers to Life’s Questions from the Doctrine and Covenants, by Breck England. The author is Franklin-Covey’s writer-in-chief, who presents insights from the D&C about various challenges that are common to persons.
Temple and Cosmos (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 12)
Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol 17)
I am setting out to do more study of the temple, and these two volumes contain major writings of Brother Nibley about temples.
Act in Doctrine: Spiritual Patterns for Turning from Self to the Savior, by David A. Bednar. The latest book by my favorite general authority.
Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America’s Eagle Scouts, by Alvin Townly. Recommended by Matthew, this book gives stories of contributions to this country by men who are eagles scouts.
Two Sudoku books
I was also able to pull together some things I have written mostly based upon study of the Book of Mormon which have a focus on how the redemptive power of the Saviour is experienced and to present this as a sort of legacy document for our family. I hope my love for the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and for each member of our family is evident.
