Winter Joys

Snow set in this week and serious cold temperatures.

Even so, Sunday afternoon we bundled up and hiked the Upland trail in 26 degree weather. 

It was challenging due to built up icy footprints. Later in the week Michael took the ATV and plowed a more even path.

That was our 51st wedding anniversary! It was a quiet day as we had already had a special getaway earlier in the week.

A couple days ago, I came across a summary written years ago that can be so helpful to explain our love story.  

I like to have a reminder of what we look like each year. Photo credits go to our resident students. Do you have a favorite? 

That evening the girls arrived back from their short break between J-term and Spring semester, and treated us to homemade pizza and tapioca pudding for our special day.

Sadly, I wasn't up early enough to get a "First Day of the Semester" photo of our two seniors, nor did I remember to get a photo memory of Monday Night Dinner. Moriah was able to join us this time.

Tuesday, however, I did record a few of the fun moments with Rebecca. We had hoped to build a "snow-girl" but the conditions were not right. Instead we enjoyed a tromp through the woods and drawing in the snow.

Wednesday, February 3, I came across photos of my recently-widowed friend's wedding. I forwarded the memories to her before noticing the date--it was what would have been their 31st anniversary!

Thursday, February 4, was Leah's 48th birthday. We went out to lunch, and I forgot to take a picture, again! Perhaps that is indicative of our good time with no thought to interrupt it with a camera. 

Leah's dear friend Amy from Doulos days, posted a sweet memory. I love the expressions on their faces. The occasion was Trevor and Manoli's wedding (from Australia and Spain respectively). Leah is wearing the flower girl outfit I made.

Our family has had many and varied adventures, indeed!

And Michael has played many different roles over the years. Here is one of the latest--performing surgery on Kendra's foot, ha! Actually just puncturing a blister to ease the discomfort as she runs and prepares for a marathon. He also draws from his own marathon experiences to coach her. (BTW, the drama was faked. She is a film major after all!) 

Saturday's highlight was the annual birthday shopping trip with grandson Elijah (16). I enjoyed it all the more because he drove. 

It was great fun to visit with the rest of the family and have a tour of the house to see the many changes and improvements.

Jude was eager to show off his latest Tinker Crate Water Fountain. Amazing!

And I met the pets, Charlie and Todd!

Here's what Stephan was up to this week--an ice carving demo for an Amish Market in Ohio.

 

What do you enjoy about Winter Wonderland?

Surprises

Some weeks back I found a long-forgotten bulb in a paper bag, so I planted it. A beautiful surprise awaited us. Daily we watched it grow, first a long stalk, then one by one these nameless beauties.

Memories from years ago also surprised me. I'd been going through Mother's diary and came across a detailed account of their travels when my parents were the age I am now. It was the last time they visited the places where they'd lived and served for most of their lives. That in itself is interesting, but there is more. I was on that trip along with my brother Ivan and his family. I located the buried photo album to revisit that pilgrimage. Since then I've been scanning, enhancing and digitizing the old photos. Here are a couple favorites.

Reunited with my BFF Mirtha, January 1997

Enough for this week's Memory Monday.

Tuesday, I met with an Upland friend who helped me adjust to life in America thirty six years ago. We enjoyed a vegan lunch at the new Rabbit Food Café in a neighboring town.

My friend Darlene

I keep plodding on with writing goals, bringing back the stories of my early years in Argentina. This week I focused on finishing the chapter about the locust invasion we experienced when I was a toddler. 

Tuesday and Thursday evenings and all day Saturdays, the robotics shop is a buzzing busy place. You can glimpse some of the activity in this video--Kicking-off the 2020 build-season.

Thursday I joined the Upland/Matthews Working group of Thriving Families/Thriving Grant County in their meeting to talk about how they could support the PhyXTGears team and then we had a tour of the shop.

I spied a grandson among the busy robot-builders! He can always sense when I am about to take a picture. 

Fridays I look forward to the lunch hour with fellow-writers. Our hostess showed us these small musical instruments she used to play. Do you know what they are?

Saturday I ventured far to visit and celebrate with a young mother, her son's first birthday. The bad weather forecast held off, and I made it there late but safe.

Life is different this month: Moriah gone all month; Michael totally absorbed designing, building, mentoring;  I have more time for household chores, cooking, and writing. Sorry to say, I have failed to walk and exercise. How has winter affected your routines?

2018 Week 34: Summer Wrapping-up

I enjoy rescuing lonely bent or weather-beaten blooms. Some five years ago at a wedding we were given a little thank you gift--a cute bag with a few lily bulbs. Only one blossoms every year, but grows too tall in search of light and then topples over.

Dove's Crossing pool was open Sunday so we joined Stephan and Karen in the evening for a fun little swim. He even fed us quesadillas! Notice the lights all around the pool now. . .

. . .and the fun little pond.

As is our custom, we went to Stephan and Karens' again Monday for the weekly open meal--delicious food but not pool-side this time.

Tuesday I drove up to see Mother. I visit regularly, every other week, and notice changes each time. This week there was a new person at the table, Beverly Garber recently widowed. She and her husband Martin were missionaries in Africa for 40 years. Beverly could entertain us for hours with her many stories.

Joene Cover, Beverly Garber, and Kathryn Hoyt--three Grace Brethren missionaries representing nearly 100 years of service.

In the afternoon I took Mother to visit Aunt Margaret and give her the news that the Grace library archivist would like to have her many years of weekly letters from Argentina.

I sorted and organized Mother's drawers and discovered the many birthday cards she received. I had not yet seen this very special greeting from cousin Beth.

Wednesday was Rebecca's new beginning--PreSchool!

She came over later for a few hours. We had a lot of fun but  seldom was she still enough to get a photo. This was the only one. She loves to play with water.

Her little friend Sophie came to Art Club Thursday with G-Dad, as she calls him.

I was quite impressed with the five-year-old's bold-colored impressionistic piece!

Michael feels safer on the road with his "bent" than his "single" (cyclist jargon) because vehicles are not as prone to squeeze around a three wheeler. However, he needed a flag in the back to make him even more visible. Adequate enough? What do you think?

He has also been researching how to add motorized help for climbing hills, and how to make a more comfortable seat.
However, the big news of the week is that he delivered the two little stones that were causing him pain the last few weeks! Since then he's ridden his single bike with no problem.

This week, one of my compañeras (classmates) posted this interesting size comparison between Argentina and Europe.

My research this week yielded valuable information to fill out the story of my life in Argentina. A couple 1944 photos I hadn't seen before: missionary candidates; my dear friend Mirtha and her parents.

Other family news: Kristie and Karen both started their fall courses toward Masters degrees in their respective fields. These are intensely busy times for them.

Sam's family were able to enjoy a much desired getaway to King's Island Saturday.

After the visit from our country dancing teacher-friend a few weeks ago, we joined them a couple Fridays in Kokomo trying to bring back the moves after so many years.

2016 Week 29: Summer heat and weddings!

A week of the usual with summer heat and political tensions on the rise, bee stings, and a wedding or two.

Monday, before the meal, I walked way  back through Stephan and Karen's property and was surprised by the extent and height of their ancient woods, seemingly much older than ours.

When possible I join an exercise group that meets three times a week from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. at the LightRider barn.
If the weather is nice we meet on the nearby pedestrian bridge.

Corpse pose (Photo credit: Jenni Webb)

One day this week, after that last restful pose, we discovered a special gift--a lovely rose, which I have enjoyed all week.

A little visitor joined me in the Wednesday afternoon. We enjoyed a non-stop sequence of activities.

Hmmm. . . where can I put this one?

Would you believe the tower is still standing days after Rebecca's visit. The sidewalk art, however, is almost gone.

We remembered our Basque girl's birthday this week, and how we celebrated her 17th here in Upland six years ago.

Amaia

We attended a wedding in Ohio on Saturday--another Basque connection. We met Courtney in 2013. She had just finished high school and joined the Circle Tour at the start of an internship to study Spanish and Euskera.

In a lovely outdoor ceremony, she married a young man from our town! And her maid of honor was her good friend from Oñati, Basque land, where she has been living the past year.

The ceremony

The reception

I felt sorry for the men in the wedding party, all wearing dark suits on such a very hot day.

Later I learned that our son Sam was swealtering in a tux at another wedding as best man.
Such is the beauty and peril of an outdoor event. Thankfully, there were no storms.

Photo credit: Kristie Koch

Mike had a couple setbacks this week:
1) the leg pain returned and shows up on his bicycle rides after ten miles but on the other leg!
2) reaction to bee stings worsened and we learned that allergies develop and escalate. He'd had no problems while working with the bee hives, until a storm blew in and rattled the guard bees.

Two accomplishments for me this week:
1) finished reading Tripping "A true story of Bible smugglers and how the East German Stasi tried to stop them." I was strongly impressed with how little we know of what is going on in the spiritual realm and how very dependent we are on God's direction for every move of our daily walk amidst the landmines of the enemy.
2) enhanced and printed the 250 pages of letters I wrote to my best friend over a period of 15 years!

Mirtha had carefully preserved all my correspondence in a neat binder. As I was trying to remember and write about my growing up years in Argentina, I asked to borrow the collection. My brother and SIL were the couriers. I had promised to return it with Ivan and Kim after their few months stay in the US. Then the housefire happened!

God must have valued those letters too! Amazingly they suffered minimal damage--some burnt edges and water marks, but still mostly readable.
I had scanned the lot before sending them back to Mirtha. But only now, after five years, did I begin to go through them seriously to glean many forgotten memories.

Are you working on any fun project?