Getting home to my own place and my own bed is always quite satisfying. I’ve been out of town for the better part of three weeks and should now be at home for the next month of so. Except, of course, that we’re planning to possibly take a short trip around President’s Day to Arizona to warm up the bones and play with the grandkids. That isn’t really being gone — just like a vacation isn’t really being gone. Only business trips count in the “being gone” category!

And there is still a lot of snow on the ground. This morning the temperatures are right at freezing. Snow is both melting and falling from the sky. The weather maps indicate some heavier precipitation west of Pocatello and a little bit south. We’re headed to the Salt Lake Airport in a few minutes to pick up a friend of ours who is flying in from Denver to spend a week. Helen lives in Castle Rock, about twenty minutes south of the Denver Temple. We picked her up each week on our way to the temple and took her home after our shift working at the temple and become good friends. She’s in her mid-80’s and very spry and adventuresome and we’re quite delighted to have her come over for a week. The Denver Temple is closed for winter vacation this week making her time available to visit with us. We’ll probably drive through some snow on our way to the airport, I think. If there’s any weather around, it’ll show up as we drive over Malad Pass and into the Great Salt Lake Valley. Snow is a good thing, however. The water is very important!