Christmas/New Year

This last week of 2021 led up to our family Christmas/New Years celebration.

I greatly admired the Nativity display at the house where our home group met Sunday, so I borrowed it for the post opener.

The weather was mild all week. I walked a couple times, once to the bridge nearby and was surprised to see how high the river was. 

One of those times I crossed paths with this handsome biker.

Rebecca and I had a delightful day together on Wednesday. She pretty near mastered one of her piano pieces. I played the accompaniment. We had fun.

Thursday, the 30th, the robotics team had a party - a movie and games. I came toward the end and joined in a game of Nerts. Great fun.

All week long the work on Stephan and Karen's new house continued steadily in eager readiness for our family get together Saturday. Here is Karen's summary:  Finishing up kitchen and bathrooms

Despite their state of exhaustion, they welcomed us into their lovely space, still in transition.

I came early with the food I'd worked on for a day and a half, and hung the stockings on the stairs.

The family units arrived one by one. Then the fun began! 

As usual, there was more than enough food. 

This was the second or third time that we I drew names and assigned one to each member. The secret gift-givers presented theirs in turn to the youngest first and in order to the oldest  (guess who).  We all watched and enjoyed each surprise and reaction  Sadly six members were missing.

Then it was game time! We introduced some to a new one, AZUL, and had two games going on at the same time, with Splendor on the other end of the table. After which we all joined in a round of Hand and Foot. Just wish we could do this more often.

Hand and Foot (the table is not really V shaped :-)

This is my Christmas loot. There is a small  . . . . . in the little box on the right, something I collect. Can you fill in the blank?

And now, blessings in the New Year to all my faithful readers and friends!

THE END

P.S.: Very seriously considering ending this weekly blog. Don't know if I can, as it's become such a habit.

Transitions

We had a few beautifully sunny days and somewhat warmer days, very inviting to go out for walks. 

Michael also took advantage of clear days to continue felling trees, cutting up huge logs, splitting wood, adding to the winter supply.

Most other days he was at Stephan's hanging light fixtures.

Son Sam worked there also installing kitchen cabinets.

Karen continues to blog about the house-progress.

I spent a few days on my various blogs. This weekly one is the least time-consuming. The two versions of my life stories, English and Spanish required more time to edit, review the translation and schedule to publish chapter 19 - Life in the Big House - for the December 1st deadline. 

Wednesday was the last Basics program for the year. Rebecca and I got to hang out together. When I dropped her off at home after, I realized I hadn't taken a picture in her holiday outfit, so she posed for me in front of their lovely Christmas tree. (Oops, her head is falling off ;-)

The robotics team is gearing up for the new season to begin in early January so they transitioned to two meetings per week. I stopped by on my way home from Muncie and enjoyed seeing how much fun the students were having putting the robot back together.

As I walked out, I looked through old photos and found this one of Sam from the time Elijah had been on the team. 

I had just spent time with Sam. He joined me at a meeting in Muncie. I was greatly relieved to hear from him the doctor's assessment of the recent MRIs. Comparing the recent ones with the previous ones taken in 2016, he did not see a significant enough change in the cyst to warrant any action. This is a great relief.

Friday evening we welcomed Bethany who is on home assignment from her work in Tanzania with Mavuno Village, a family-style orphanage.

We found out she loves to play games too. So we had a fun time playing Splendor first. Then she introduced us to a new game she had with her--AZUL.

Saturday she began her long drive to Philadelphia after more good conversation at breakfast and a quick selfie. We are truly grateful for the friends who find their way to our home, the blessing of living in the Crossroads of America.

Saturday evening we attended a Christmas performance at The Commons Theatre in Alexandria. Our friend Tamara was one of the directors (and I borrowed this photo from her FB page).

As if Michael had not done enough, at the end of a busy Sunday, he decided to make bread!

"What kind shall I make? What shall I listen to in the process?"

We slowly transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I envy those who are able to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. Somehow it has never worked for me. What about you?

Miscellany

Cousin Karin cheers us with flowers from different seasons--sunflowers, roses, and lilies. They are not from her garden. The memorial bouquet arrived after her brother Ed's passing. 

The season not represented in the bouquet showed up here on Sunday--our first snowfall.

Now, back to last Sunday, the beginning of week forty-six. In the afternoon, I attended a baby shower for a young couple we've befriended since they moved back to Upland to start a new life after some difficult times. 

Monday Night Dinner at Stephan and Karen's always includes a great meal, fun conversation, and of course, a tour of the new house to check out the week's progress. The window wall is coming right along. Stephan used left over wood he had milled for other purposes.

As any homeowner understands, maintenance and repairs are ongoing. Tuesday, a blocked drain took hours to fix. Part of the problem was not knowing exactly how the plumbing had been installed when the house was rebuilt.

Rebecca was here twice this week! Wednesday after piano lesson she comes and then we go to the Basics program at the church. And Friday was an E-learning day, so she started out at the library with her mom, stayed for Story Hour and then I picked her up to spend a few hours with us until Kayla got off work.

Kayla is in charge of activities and programs at the local library, and comes up with very creative ideas. Even if borrowed from Pinterest or elsewhere, I am always impressed at how she pulls them off. The first thing she did was hand me a leaf to add to the tree with my response to "I'm thankful for. . ."

Of all the many activities we enjoyed together, I only got one photo of Rebecca. She finished several of her E-learning assignments: writing, reading, and optional fun ones--a walk outdoors gathering leaves, an art project, a board game (Splendor!) with family members (abuelo joined us!). She still loves to dance freely to music.

Michael had more time Saturday after an early morning hunt, so he baked bread again!

Callah bread

That evening he suggested we work on a watercolor project. He looked up a photo that best reminded him of his last dog. I simply followed a tutorial. I'd say he has the greater talent and patience.

For months now, my creative energy has been poured into writing, so I was grateful for his suggestion of this art activity for our leisure time together. 

Have you found time for creative activities in your leisure time? Or, do you ask "What leisure time"?

Week 41's Miscellany

When I looked back on Week 41 there were hardly any photos. I listed the important happenings of the week as part of "remembering, reflecting, recording." (I read somewhere it's supposed to help you live a longer and more fulfilling life.) Even so, the weekly photo-journal came together once again. (Thanks to all whose photos I've "borrowed.") 

Cousin Karin sent this photo especially for me/us, a bright zinnia bouquet. Thank you, Karin!

I had asked sister-in-law Raquel for a selfie, after failing to take a picture of them when we were there last week. I received this happy family pic. Thank you!

I promised to share more about our ultra eventful last weekend. Sunday evening, we celebrated Kayla's upcoming 30th birthday (Tuesday, October 5) with a fondue. This one photographic memory of the party reveals the serious decline of my photography, both in quantity and quality.

As always, the littlest family member was the center of attention. Auntie Kayla is so good at leading little ones in song and movement. Kalani followed right along with The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Baby Shark.

I managed to get in only one longer walk this week. 

I try to observe seasonal changes--the colors, new growth, things I hadn't noticed before. 

I've also been preparing the outdoor potted plants for wintering indoors. I rescued some little spider plant starters and had fun using Michael's pottery experiments to grow them in. 

I discovered that the mums planted last fall came back and blossomed. I was taking a picture of them at the same time that my friend in Argentina sent me a pic of their spring flowers. 

There was one more birthday in the family this week. Friday the 8th of October Jude turned nine.

Stephan was in Holland, Michigan, over the weekend, carving pumpkins for a fall festival. I love this fairy tale ensemble. How many of you know the story? He was surprised that some passersby did not. Most onlookers complimented his work and preferred it to the typical scary Halloween themes.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum . . . 

During the week the spray foam insulation was installed in Stephan and Karen's new house. They tell me it was fun to watch. Next comes the dry wall.

Moriah came Friday evening to spend Taylor Homecoming here. She drove straight from work and looked very professional. She brought and cooked a wonderful meal for us. It is hard to believe that I did not take any pictures that day of such a splendid occasion.

Saturday morning I woke up early enough to go for the Homecoming 5K. Moriah wanted to join me, but had to go to Dollar General when it opened at 8:00 and buy appropriate shoes. The good news was that the race was scheduled for 8:30. The bad news was that they changed the route from in town to the Taylor cross country trail, and she couldn't find it. Nevertheless, she persisted and arrived 10 minutes after the start of the race, ran it backwards to meet me and we wogged (walk/jog) together! Wasn't that sweet!

I saw this dad ahead of me carrying his child but never knew if and when they finished. I was the last one and by that time the party was over, everybody except the organizers had left. 

Meanwhile, Michael was at Stephan's place in case the dry wall delivery and crew had any questions or needed anything. But, in the evening we were all home again and managed to play Splendor together like old times. I finally remembered to capture the moment.

We even took a selfie before she left Sunday morning. Ah, but I still regret missing the lovely plated meal and Moriah's professional engineer look.

Week 40

 

Week 40 seemed rather routine, until the exceedingly eventfull weekend. Not many photos to represent our daily activities.

Much of the time, I was intent on preparing chapter 15  of My Argentina and Mi Argentina querida for publication on Friday, October 1. It can be tedious work and results are not always perfect. These self-imposed deadlines may be stressful at times, but certainly help me accomplish some life goals.

Michael's focus was the ongoing installation of the heating system in Stephan and Karen's new house. That too, requires great perseverance--faulty parts to be returned, leaks that need repaired, constant checking, keeping on day after day. And finally, the documentation of the entire floor heating system! What an impressive document Michael is putting together! The end is near!

I took Leah to the Cancer Center this week, and after that we happened upon an opportunity for extra provisions for her household: a tailgate distribution of surplus items by Second Harvest. We waited over an hour (or napped) in one of the long lines of cars.

Among the items loaded in our car, were a great quantity of these cute little pumpkins. I microwaved a couple, scooped out the seeds and mashed the rest with butter and brown sugar. Delish! I imagine we'll have fun painting many of them.

I was fascinated by the bouquet at our table at The Bridge Cafe and learned about these blooms using my SEEK app. But more importantly, I enjoyed conversation with my friend Petey. I am so grateful for our friendship.

In the evening, I got to see Rebecca! It was the first meeting of Basics. Since she moved up from Basics Jr., I did too. It was fun being a volunteer, an errand person.

Now let me list the many events of the weekend:

--Friday, Michael and a dozen or more guys camped overnight on Stephan and Karen's property in the back open area close to the woods (and the outhouse!). They tented, cooked, played ball, some swam in the pool, and then gathered around the fire ring and shared man stories.

Michael prepared, brought and served a large breakfast the next day.

--Saturday afternoon, we drove to Winona Lake for one of the Grace Homecoming events, an alumni dinner. The sixth president, Dr. Katip, now in his last year, shared many interesting stories of his journey with Grace schools.

We will never forget the time Bill and his wife Debbie stopped to visit and pray with our family at the hospital after Malachi's serious accident. Even more meaningful is the fact that they were on their way back from a memorial for their eight-year-old grandson who died in a fire.

--We spent that night at my brother Alan's and got to visit and catch up with him and his wife Raquel and their two foster children.

--Sunday morning we were so blessed to go to church with Malachi and Lexi (they live next door to Alans) and then spend time with them afterwards.

There's more to the eventfull weekend, but I think I'll save that for the next post.

The promise of Deuteronomy 33:25 proved true again!

"As your days — so shall your strength be!" Deuteronomy 33:25