The Russells

February 22, 2008 (happened to be my 8oth birthday) we drove to BYU, picked up Beth Russell, went to the Salt Lake Airport and flew to Seattle, WA. The Russells picked us up at the airport, and we went to their home in Woodinville, a suburb of Seattle. The occasion was that on the prior Wednesday Elder Sam Russell had returned from his mission to the Siberian Novosibirsk Mission, and he was going to talk about it on Sunday 24 February. He did and did it well. That morning at 7:00 AM we all piled into the Russell van and went to the stake center where Sam told the Stake Presidency and the High Council about his experience. This prompted the Stake President to say that his feeling about Sam has always been that he is a man without guile.

The Russells hosted Clarine and me like we were part of the family which is what we want to be. The family is oriented towards Jesus Christ and their relationships with each other demonstrate that that is their focus. We (Beth, Clarine and I) went to the Seattle airport Sunday afternoon after a grand meal, prepared in simplicity, at the Russell home. Flying out of Seattle we had a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier as the weather was clear and sunny. We got back to Salt Lake a little after 8:00 PM. We immediately headed for Provo to deliver Beth back to BYU. It was after 11:00 when we got home. A brief mention of the photos in this blog: A Russell family photo (,Carol not present as she is on a mission to Curitiba, Brazil), Caleb wearing a dumb mask he bought at a thrift store,Elder Sam displaying his Russian ties (he is partial to stripes; the ties are thickly constructed), Sarah at the computer, Caleb at the computer, Beth and Hannah after more than ten inches of Hannah's beautiful hair had been cut to be donated to a good cause, mother, Amy being domestic. I have a copy of the Sacrament meeting program which I will scan and forward in a separate mailing pointing out that there are a couple of twin missionaries listed from the ward that have an Oxford connection. gwh

Amarylis - revisited

Today the Amarylis has four trumpets in bloom - the fourth is just barely full, and the first is justst starting to fade. WHAT A GLORIUS DISPLAY!!!!! Now you know the "rest of the story." Or at least you know the part of this saga that counts.

My cold is starting to improve for which I am very grateful. one problem is that Clarine is showing signs of getting it. She is determined to get back to the temple tomorrow, so she is doctoring in all of the many ways one can treat a cold.

Today the weather is moderate enough that I think I can detect a slight chink in the armor of winter. We have had a cold one with above average snowfall. There is very good snowpack in the mountains for next summer's water needs.

I have made some inroads on preparing my income tax returns. (There has been talk for years of simplifying the process, but as near as I can tell, each time they tinker with it, it becomes more complex.) However, I will surely make the deadline in April. gwh

Amarylis

At Christmas time the Russells sent us an amarylis bulb, pot and soil. We planted it on arrival. It immediately started to put forth green shoots. I took a picture of it before we left for St. George last week. When we returned, there was a bloom - very lovely. There are two other blooms ready to pop. Thank you very much, Russells.

While we were in St. George, we visited some friends, attended the temple, went to Tuacahn, Zion's Park, Jacob Hamblin's home and Brigham Young's summer home. President Hinckley passed away while we were gone. We ate several wonderful meals while we were there. The Allreds from Arvada, Colorado were going to join us there, but they had to cancel their trip at the last minute as Deanna is trying to get a health issue under control. It is sad because we have a good time with the Allreds. The weather while we were there was a little cool for St. George, but it was good enough so that one day we got into the outdoor swimming pool which was heated. It was a little cool as we walked back to our unit from the pool. We found everything still in tact at home when we returned. I felt a cough coming on as we drove home. As a result, today I was so hoarse that I could not teach my Sunday School class. Clarine did it for me. I am staying home and nursing my symptoms.

While we were gone , the rest of the IRS forms that I need arrived in the mail and I will now be able to file the tax. As near as I can tell from the e-mail that arrived while we were gone, our family reunion this summer is going to center around Emily's wedding. Speaking of e-mail, there were over 150 messages in our in basket when we arrived home. It took me a day and a half to sort through them. I found quite a few messages that are starting to recirculate

The weather is still wintry. I would expect that soon the weather will moderate and signs of spring will start to appear. gwh