Easter

Easter Sunday came much earlier this year than last. Last year at this time we were just about to board a plane for Amsterdam where we would worship on Easter Sunday with 450 others in a church that has worshiped in the same building since 1607.

It was a little different this year. Church of the Resurrection meets in the commons of Coconino Community College, a building not even 25 years old. The music last year was very traditional, this year was a blend of traditional and contemporary. But one thing remains the same - the fellowship of God's people who are called together and who celebrate Christ's resurrection.

Last year we went to the tulips, but this year God brought the tulips to us. No one is ever going to accuse me of being a gardener, but I've planted tulip bulbs and then neglect them. I hear about how you should dig them up and separate them, then replant them in the fall, but it somehow never happens. Despite all that, this is what we have coming up in our front yard. We've even been visited by bees who like them.

We were also pleasantly surprised when we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Several houses had large patches of Muscari (aka Grape Hyacinth), a flower that I don't recall knowing about until we saw them at Keukenhof Gardens last year. I fell in love with the dark purple variety, and that is what we saw around the neighborhood today. I may have to work at gardening after all.

One of the other highlights of the day was that the COR-tet opened the service with a fun gospel quartet number called "Your First Day in Heaven". The lyrics are a bit corny, but it's really a great song to celebrate Easter with. After all, it's only because Jesus was raised from the dead that we have assurance that we have eternal life and will have a first "day" in heaven someday.

(Sorry for the poor quality of the video. Our usual camera is being repaired.)

Spring

How can you tell that it's Spring in Flagstaff? There are tulips coming up in the yard, and we had such strong winds today that there was dirt blowing across Route 66 as I drove home from work.

Yep, first day of Spring, and the weather looked at the calendar so the wind picked up.

Years ago a member of our church said, "When is the wind going to stop and it will be Spring?" Our answer, "The wind is how you can tell that it is Spring!"

The Magic of George Winston

Every once in awhile the weather forecasters actually get it right. The snow was forecast to be heaviest at about 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon, and it actually was. We went out for dinner last night to celebrate Taylor's birthday and drove past a couple of restaurants which were closed due to the heavy snow build-up. The roads were a bit tricky due to all the snow that had piled up very quickly.

This is what our front porch looked like this morning. I had to sweep the snow out of the carport - it had blown all the way up against the carport door's sill.

The pile to the right of the car has grown to as high as 5 feet during some winters when there are enough snow storms. There hasn't been much this winter, but it may get big enough for sledding once I get through shoveling.

This is the view up the street, looking toward Mount Elden, which can barely be seen through the snow. We've had one plow go down the street - just enough plowing to create a pile to deal with when attempting to get in/out of the driveway.

When I first discovered the music of pianist George Winston, we were at the Mt. Elden Christian Conference Center. I'd put George on the stereo and watch the snow come down in that small rural oasis within the city. It was a pretty magical experience and I repeated it every snow storm for awhile. Ever since then, the joke in our family when I play George is that "it's gonna snow!".

After taking the photo of our street, I came inside and turned on the stereo. The first disc in the player was "December" by George Winston. I looked out the window and noticed that the snow suddenly changed to larger, more frequent, flakes. If I had been out on the street I would not have been able to glimpse the mountain anymore. Thanks, George!

Let it snow!

March is typically the month in Flagstaff gets the most snow each year. It is often dense, wet, and the roads are more sloppy than slippery. Well, so far March is keeping up the tradition. The roads were simply wet when I went to work at 8:00 a.m. By 10 a.m. there was over 4 inches of snow on the ground and by 5 p.m. we have at least 8 inches on our driveway. In between we've had times where we can't see the house across the street because it is snowing so heavily and the wind picks up. Fun!

The view from my office window this morning. The San Francisco Peaks are somewhere out there in the background.

Lot's of big flakes.

Looking toward the parking lot this afternoon.

It is supposed to continue snowing through Sunday. By Tuesday it is supposed to be back up to almost 60F and a lot of this will be gone!

Deja Vu

This week Linda and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. It is amazing to look back on it and think that it was 41 years ago, not 21. "Time flies when you are having fun" is the old saying. Maybe time just flies, but it is so much better when God has given you a partner that is so precious.

On the evening of our anniversary, we went out for dinner to a new Italian restaurant called "Fat Olives". Everything is made in their huge wood-fired oven and it's all wonderful. We even got chocolate mousse for dessert (on the house) for the event. Until a few months ago, the building had been a veterinary hospital for as long as we can remember.

On our honeymoon, 41 years ago, we came to Flagstaff for a couple of days. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant on old Route 66 that was no longer in business by the time we moved here in 1980. The building had been remodeled to become a veterinary hospital.