Memories To Hold On To

 It has been raining most of the day and in fact at this moment, I can hear the steady patter of rain on the building outside.  It is such a cozy feeling to listen to the rain.  We are still in hopes that this coming new week will have snow.  But every time it is in the forecast, something happens by the day it is appointed, and - no snow.

We took our walk along side one of the many beautiful rivers today.  It was cool and overcast and at the time, not raining.  It was plenty muddy though.  SK found some geese and swan to interact with.  None of them were much impressed with his overtures.

This is the walkway to people's homes (on the left).  Their front yards are tiny little squares with the fences you can see.  Some are completely overgrown with vines and greenery and the look of a wild forest, while others are pristine and properly manicured.  Whatever, they are each unique and have the river to look out at any time of the day or night.

We had a mission call this evening, where we heard the latest announcements.  Our mission doctor went over the symptoms of COVID, talked about what to do if you think you have it, and also shared the schedule of vaccinations.  Nothing new for us.  We figure it will be February before we can get one.  Dr. Sumko also mentioned that the Oxford Vaccination doesn't seem to be as effective as the Moderna.  But who cares at this point?  We don't really have much choice.

We were supposed to pick up an order of groceries today, but I kind of didn't push the "pay and reserve your day and time" button.  The earliest we can get an order without walking inside to shop is a week from tomorrow.  We decided we will see how well we will do without shopping for another 8 days.  It should be interesting.  We have a lot of frozen stuff and canned goods, and dried beans.  I think we should be able to do it - easily!  We'll see.  I think it will be a fun challenge.

I have enough brownies to last - if I am careful and only eat a little each day.  That is a BIG if!  Thank you one and all for the best brownies I have ever had in my life!

We had some training by the tech elders, and to close the meeting, a senior missionary (a former head of the English Department at BYU-Idaho) closed with a great little exercise.  He said to turn to our companions the last thing today and for 60 seconds repeat a memory to each other.  As we do so, bring all our senses into play.  For instance:

We first discovered the Covered Market in 2019, the first fall we were here.  We turned in off the street to what looked like a narrow little alley, but which - in truth - turned out to be a mini-mall with tiny little shops clustered together  along the intertwining alleyways.  The first shop we passed was the fragrant flower shop which had a profusion of colorful blossoms in buckets spilling out into the alley.  The temperature was cool and there is a dampness in the air here.  The "covering" overhead or ceiling looked like ornate metal work and stained glass or plexiglass, which let in a certain amount of natural light.    In the leather shop, we ran our hands over the warm velvet-smooth leather purses.  Don't you love the smell of leather?  As we neared the pasty shop, the wonderful aroma of seasoned meat pies wafted out through the narrow walkways.  The open butcher shop displayed fresh meat laid out on ice, and the strong smell fresh fish let us know we were near a fish market.  We strolled past a children's shop and ogled the adorable little outfits.  A chocolate shop, a card and sundries market, a couple of barger shops, and a variety of other quaint little outlets called out to us to enter.  We ended up at "I-scream" where we sampled rich creamy ice cream cones.  I love that place!

There you have it!  Now I won't have to recite it for SK.  He thanks you too.