Our most constant and numerous visitors are the hummingbirds. Michael fills their sugar water feeder daily! It is very difficult to photograph the half a dozen or so flitting about at one time. Perhaps you can see a couple in this pic.
Sunday, somewhat tired, we decided to take one of our gift cards and eat out. We enjoyed the nearby Brittish cuisine at Payne's Restaurant. The more recent Garfield statue there reminded me of the years when Elijah and I followed the Grant County Garfield tour on his January birthday trip.
Mid afternoon, Stephan called and invited us to join them at Ivanhoe's. We never pass up an opportunity to be with our kids!
Nor can we pass up Ivanhoe's strawberry shortcake!
The funny thing was that we were scheduled to meet with our home group for ice cream that evening at the newly remodeled Cammack Station! We definitely exceeded our calorie intake that day!
Between these outings we were still preparing to welcome guests. The "Ship Room" was rather empty after Moriah moved out so Michael purchased a couple pieces of furniture and spent hours assembling them.
Three arrived Monday mid afternoon. A kind friend of the Eichers drove them all the way from Chicago and then immediately turned around and headed back home.
![]() |
Joanna Vasudevan, Enoch and Asha Eicher |
The Eicher siblings are Andi Eicher's children and grandchildren of our dear friends, Ray and Christa, and now fourth generation Taylor alums. Asha and her friend Joanna are returning juniors. It is Enoch's first year and first time in America.
They caught on rather quickly to Splendor, our favorite game, and it became a nightly ritual with Enoch.
The girls could move into their dorm earlier because of roles and responsibilities on campus. They were happy to have Enoch along to haul their luggage.
Enoch offered to cook for us. He came prepared with all the necessary Indian spices. So we were introduced to pav bhaji, a spicy vegetable mash that you scoop up with rolls fried in butter.
Thursday we were invited to dinner with the Pawley family. They are on furlough from Cambodia. The two older boys are entering Taylor University, their dad Eric's alma mater. Joe, the oldest has been on the robotics team. MeeSun prepared food from her homeland, Korea. They will be leaving two sons behind, and Tom the youngest will be on his own. Who do you think is feeling the separation the most?
Friday evening was the popular House Hunters, a very well organized event where the women of the church travel in groups to homes on their assigned route and have a contest to see and find out certain things at each place.
The house that stood out for me was where Argentine artifacts were displayed on the walls: a cow hide mate surrounded by pictures of gauchos and a boleadora, a type of throwing weapon used to entangle the legs of cattle or game.
![]() |
Boleadora |
Felix Aguilar VI, the homeowner, comes from a long line of important Argentines. His great great great grandfathers' portrait hangs over the mantel. Two framed documents from 1954 certify that the then president, Juan Domingo PerĂ³n, assigned him as Argentine consul in Chicago with jurisdiction over twelve mid western states, and that President Dwight D. Eisenhower recognized him as such.
Saturday I introduced Enoch to two special places. At the Helping Hand store he purchased a couple good jackets for colder weather.
And at Ivanhoe's he had a sandwich and a sundae, and the obligatory photo by Garfield.
Those are the highlights of our week, but not the end of visits and visitors. Come back next week for more.