It's Up to Us, New York, New York

 I know you were disappointed not to see the installment from last week, but we had an excuse. Olivia came down with what she described as a cold on Thursday the 18th, but refused to stay home on the 19th, because she and Sister Taylor had planned our trip to the Frick museum and she was determined to go. She felt awful and got worse during the visit, even though she found much with which to be amazed. By the time we left and were supposed to get the subway to the El Salvador Consulate, she had decided to just go home. The Taylors wanted to visit the consulate, so the three of us went, only to discover that it was closed due to expected bad weather (which never happened). A wasted trip. I was glad she had decided to go home, because she was quite sick. The museum has a huge variety of paintings Small collections in groupings like this to large masterpieces. The website said photography was allowed but the security guards and signs everywhere disagreed. We took a few before realizin...

 There was a stretch of over 700 days without a snowfall of over an inch, and I guess that stretch is over. We did get enough that the snow plows got to lower their blades last night at just past midnight. Then it rained and most of the snow went away, now there are tiny icicles on the balcony railings. I'm just glad I don't have to drive in it today. Still, it is nothing like much of the rest of the country, probably including where most of you live. (Nobody wants to hear about the weather in the US Virgin Islands, Cedric.) There is a snow advisory for tonight into tomorrow, but we don't have to drive until Thursday. As you can see, not really much of a snowstorm. Apparently, it has snowed in the past, as evidenced by the snow- shovel that has been on the balcony since before we got here. This week has been busy for us, but mostly from inside the apartment. We are preparing documents, updating reports, communicating with organizations (stake and ward), and preparing things...

 Last week I could feel a chest cold coming on and, having seen several people struggle with something similar, knew that it would keep me indoors, hoarse, and persistently coughing. We had critical meetings that required our attention last week and I did not want to miss, postpone or send Olivia by herself to the extremes of Long Island. Therefore, I prayed over and over that I would be spared. I knew that it was coming as I pondered, so I just asked that it be postponed until we could get through Sunday, December 31st. As I drove home that Sunday, I could feel the illness taking over my body. By Monday, I was hoarse and coughing. It never got to a point that I felt the need to just stay in bed, but I couldn't go far because of the cough and cold. On Wednesday morning I thought I was going to be well enough to go to the El Salvador Consulate for our English Connect class, so I prepared the lesson on PowerPoint, but by lunchtime it was pretty obvious that I would not be able to go....

 Literally, the old year went out with a bang that sounded like it should have rattled our building. It didn't, but the fireworks were exceptionally loud. Our view was blocked, so we could only hear them, not see them. We have always stayed up to welcome in the New Year, and I thought this time we would forgo that, but we did not. We stayed up and talked, looked at some posts on Instagram, but right after midnight, we went to bed. I did not feel well, and Olivia is just getting over what she shared with me, so it was probably not the smartest choice. Still, we are now officially into 2024 , which will be a year of adventure for us. We went to the El Salvador Consulate on both Wednesday and Friday. Olivia made cookies for Julia, who turned 29 the day before, Kathia whose birthday is six months away, and Inez who should have had her 1/2 birthday in October, but we didn't go into the consulate that month because of the heavy work load they were experiencing. They are always deligh...