JANUARY 11, 1993 OREM, UTAH

Dearest John; Roy, Patrice, Emily & Timothy; Bob, Claire, Michael, Laura, Brett & Katie; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, LeeAnna & Jimmy:

WOW!!! We are in a deep freeze here in Utah and besides the cold temperatures we have more snow than has been recorded in almost 50 years. They keep interrupting programs on television to warn people to stay at home - the last one said the highway around the "Point of the Mountain" and Lehi is closed. Highway 89 by Layton is also closed. I am doing fine and my neighbors couldn't possibly be nicer - Paul Theobald has used his back hoe to clear off the roads in our area and also to clear my driveway when the snow got too heavy for the young men to shovel - Howard Wilcox has used his snow blower to clear my driveway and walks at least six times and is out there again now. One of my neighbors, Jim Steel, got up on his roof to get the snow off and that has made many of us realize that we could have "cave-ins". I have thought about getting a vacuum blower to blow the snow off the roof where I could get at it through my bathroom window but I couldn't do anymore than that so I don't know that that would help.

I have worried about the cabin. The skunk room has a flat roof and it probably has at least two to three feet of snow on it - I worry about the four-wheelers and would hate to have them hurt. I called Bob and he can't go up there until Saturday and he said he would try to rent a snowmobile to go check on things. John called this morning and he said he would see what he could do. I got out some pictures of the cabin and noticed the community building they finished last year and it has a very large flat roof - I wonder if they are doing anything about that. I probably just worry too much but I know that if Daddy were here he would go check on things - the deck should be shoveled off too. I have been watching the Smith's roof over their patio and it isn't braced very much but it isn't sagging - I KNOW they don't worry about things like that. I will never change!!!

I have enrolled in a Book of Mormon class at UVCC and was excited to go this morning but they have cancelled all classes over there. I went to church yesterday with the Frisbys - they have a huge van and they took a lot of other neighbors too. It was a missionary farewell or they wouldn't have had church - they cancelled all the other meetings. The Woolleys had stake conference and they didn't cancel their meetings but they said they passed a lot of neighbors who were out shoveling snow - Ron used his snow blower and started early, early and that was smart.

I talked to Jeannie last night and she said Ricky and the other young men his age in their ward had spent a lot of time shoveling snow off the roofs of people in a trailer park by them. I KNOW how much they appreciate that. Do any of you remember that our trailer over in Lehi had the roof cave in while we were on our mission? Daddy completely rebuilt it when we got home - I'm kinda' upset that he sold that!!

I remembered that I didn't write my letter one week in December and it was the week where I would have told about our family going to the Nutcracker Ballet in Salt Lake. I want to write about that so it can be recorded in my journal. Barji performed in it and she was simply beautiful and we were all SO proud of her. That was my first time to see the Nutcracker and I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen - I know it took a lot of practice and commitment but it was worth it. The weather was bad so John took Ann & her girls and me and then Claire & Laura and Claire's parents came from Layton. After the performance we went to Marie Callenders for pie - FUN!!!

I also want to thank Mary Ann for her "newsletter" that was sent to me during that time. It was absolutely darling and I hope she will write another one some time. She said, "Grandma B, since you send us a newsletter each week, I want to send you one".

I also want to mention Bob & Claires' parrot!!! Our family has done some unusual things through the years but we HAVE NEVER had a parrot. They have a beautiful cage for it and keep it right by their family room so it is part of the family. I might have suspected that Bob would be the one to have an unusual pet - do you all remember his "pet snakes" in our garage when we lived in Little Rock?

Speaking of pets -- the Woolleys had a most unusual thing happen to them. Ann & Ron are having their home completely "de-smoked" by professional cleaners - Ann says it has really helped. Well Šone of their parakeets died and they think it was a result of all the smoke. They had to move all the furniture from the carpet while they cleaned it and in putting it back Ann knocked over their canary's cage. The little canary's foot got caught in the cage and broke it and it was just dangling. They called the veterinarian and he said it would probably die from loss of blood. They decided to try to help it so they got the scissors and cut off the foot and then Ron cauterized it with a soldering iron. They watch its "vital signs" constantly and say they think it is going to make it - I HOPE SO!!!

I just LOVE to talk to that little Emily - she is so understanding and interested in everything I talk about. I told her what a help it is to have the dogs' water bowl that won't freeze and she said, "I'm happy you like that Grandma B" - I hope she will always be like that. They're doing fine.

John came over one evening last week and stayed for awhile. He is doing fine and loves his work. I'm glad he has a good car - his Jetta was a nightmare in this weather.

I talked to the Woods in Little Rock. Roy Bass is not doing well at all - they had visited him in Louisiana - he has congestive heart failure. We didn't hear from David & Anna this year. Everyone is angry with John Robert and many of his dental patients have quit him - he has left his wife & children.

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