Gecko Grill in Salt Lake City? Not Really

   The Salt Lake Temple closed for maintenance on January 20 and won't open again until February 17.  We love going there not only because it's close but the beauty of the building continues to be breathtaking no matter how many times we go especially knowing the sacrifice that was made to complete it. We'll get to go there a few more times before we have to go home. In the meantime we went to the Jordan River Temple this week. No matter which Temple we go to we feel the spirit and peace that make it such a treat to be able to be there. It's really great to have so many temples so close.

   We work at the library the first Saturday of every month so February 1 was our turn. When we work on Saturday we have Friday off so we chose that day to attend the Jordan River Temple. On our way there we saw "Gecko's Mexican Grill" and decided we would stop there after our Temple visit for lunch to see how it compared to Gecko Grill in Gilbert - NO COMPARISON!! We did have lunch and it was okay but not a place we'll return to.  Cafe Rio is still our Spanish food of choice in SLC! (We've also tried the Red Iguana which we heard was the best in town but it was WAY too hot for us.)

Gecko Grill in SLC - no comparison to the Gecko Grill in Gilbert

Brigham Young University Winterfest.
   On Saturday night we attended a performance by the International Folk Dance Ensemble from BYU.  The event was held at the Conference Center Theater which is just across the street from our apartment. The advertisement for the show was the following:

     "Any wanderer will tell you that there is something magical about discovering new places and old traditions. The International Folk Dance Ensemble’s new show, Journey, is a 90-minute voyage of dance and music through the heartbeat of the world’s cultures.  In this show you will see Irish hard shoe, American clogging, Ukrainian Hopak, exotic Indian dances, and many more.   The experience of the furious footwork, the pulsing rhythms, the live music, and the authentic costumes will leave you (AND IT DID) with a special kind of wanderlust. So throw off the bowlines and catch the wind in your sails as our companion on this Journey." 

An example of the costuming for the BYU performance

   The show was foot-stompin' GOOD!! We really enjoyed it. We have tickets to see 2nd show in the series next week which will be the Ballroom Dance Company.

   This morning the message at the Tab Choir Broadcast was "The Unfolding Story". We were reminded that "Each life is an unfolding story - a story of growth and learning and change, a story of happiness and heartbreak, a story of success and sorrow. So perhaps we ought to be a little more patient, a little more forgiving. Perhaps we ought to be slower to judge and quicker to love.

   Never forget that every life and every occasion is unfolding in a unique and distinctive way. We may know some, but never all, of the story; so err on the side of compassion. Hold off on criticism and sarcasm, and never withhold kindness and mercy. And then, someday, when the whole story is finally written, we'll be thankful that we were able to contribute - at least in some small way - to a happy ending."