Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

It was snowing lightly when we arose Saturday morning and it had been through the night. By mid-day, however, the sun was shining brightly and the snow on the road in front of our home had been plowed and sanded and then melted. These photos were taken from our living room front door and bay window.

At the bottom in this photo, there is a mound
of stacked snow that stands about four feet high.
It just keeps growing from alternate bouts of
being stacked then receiving new snowfall again.

We have a very good neighbor who owns a four-wheel SUV with a snow blade on it. He often will be found shoveling off sidewalks and driveways for neighbors on our street very early in the morning before residents back out of their driveways in their vehicles. That's how many of the piles of snow keep growing as snow storms continue to blanket us with their beautiful white stuff. Some people in our area are beginning to do a little complaining about all the snow and cold weather. But they have to remember that we live in a dry, desert part of the state and we often have periods of drought. This summer, we will be very, very thankful for the snow we are receiving now. Believe me!

Gloria, in blue, and a neighbor girl, Autumn Sutton, are

busy using hand shovels to clear Friday night and early
Saturday morning snow from our driveway. They were
uncooperative with me in taking the picture by facing
away from the camera instead of facing toward it.

While Gloria and Autumn were hand-shoveling the driveway, another fellow who lives up the street from us came by and helped finish it up. He also did the sidewalk in from of our home as well as a few other neighbor's driveways.

It makes me wonder how long it will take for all
the snow to melt down to where the green grass
of spring will be visible again. The fellow on the
SUV can hardly be seen from our front porch.

We watched the funeral proceedings of President Hinkley's Funeral yesterday morning starting at 10:00 a.m. on KSL-TV. The ceremony didn't actually begin until 11:00 a.m. It lasted uninterruptedly for an hour and a half. It was a great, spiritual tribute to a great and spiritual man. His dedication and hard work contributed greatly to the accomplishments that the Church has experienced during his tenure as president and prophet. His love and devotion to us all are great blessings and we have all benefited from his leadership. He will be greatly missed. There will be an announcement over KBYU-TV tomorrow, Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. to name his successor as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and President of the Church.

This morning, February 3, we arose again to another blanket of newly falling snow. And it continued on into the day and afternoon. Weather and road condition reports informed us that the entire state was being affected by the storm, with varying amounts of snow coverage. The southern portion of Salt Lake County and on south into Utah County received enough snow to force a number of LDS meeting houses to be closed and their members to return to their homes because of the high buildup of snow and difficult driving conditions. Melanie called and told us they left to go home after Sacrament Meeting and that several people had fallen in the parking lot. We returned home following our block meetings and choir practice for Gloria at about 1:00 p.m. Gary Houskeeper came over with his SUV and shoveled our walk and driveway again. We owe him a debt of gratitude. It was nap time for Dad after we ate a pork roast with potato pearls and broccoli with raspberry jello and cottage cheese salad. It lasted for about three hours (the nap, not the meal).

We decided that we were not going to watch the Super Bowl this year. And we didn't. It's now time to bring this blog to a close so we can get to bed. We hope everyone is well and happy. We love you all very, very much. Pleasant dreams. Love, Mom and Dad