Week 42

Somehow cousin Karin faithfully puts together a lovely bouquet every week even when she says there are few flowers left. Thanks, again!

And, somehow, Michael musters up enough strength to keep tackling the many tasks that present themselves. 

One job is almost done - the heating system at Steph and Karen's new house! He has repaired all the more obvious leak spots, but it will need to be checked with water when that is possible. Notice the well organized and labeled binder documenting the entire system. 

Photo on right shows dry wall in-progress. 

We got to see son Sam Monday night as well. He came to talk about the cabinetry he will be installing.

For further details check out Karen's weekly blog report on house progress.

Leah's place had some fun pumpkin decor. Next, some will be painted and/or eaten.

Michael and a few backpacking buddies went to Low Gap Trail in Morgan Monroe State Forrest and spent Wednesday and into Thursday enjoying the beautiful outdoors and perfect weather.

 

Friday the 15th, was another of my self-imposed writing deadlines. Again, somehow throughout the two weeks, we managed to crank out another capítulo - in English Chapter 16 "Tents and Temples", and in Spanish La Carpa. 

Saturday, Our Town Upland sponsored the second annual Fall Festival. By the time I arrived, the family members I had gone to see were already leaving. Perfect timing to admire the pumpkins Rebecca and Kalani painted, get hugs and kisses, and abuela's mandatory photo.

A couple days later this great action photo showed up on Facebook. 

Thank you Ashley Tibery and Our Town Upland!

That was all I'd come for, so I just went home, took a short nap and waited for the arrival of two grandsons coming to spend the night.

We had a fun time with Zion and Jude. I introduced Zion to a Let's Make Art watercolor tutorial. He picked the Piggy Pig out of many, many options because it had seemingly fewer lines and looked easier. It was probably more challenging than we expected but we had fun! I had missed doing watercolor, so thank you, Zion!

Jude preferred to explore the new video game he got for his birthday. We also played a couple games together.

Sunday morning Zion made us eggs for breakfast while Jude, showered and ready for church, continued to conquer some of the objectives of his game!

After church we needed to help Diane with a couple of malfunctions, so we drove to her apartment in Marion and then took her out to eat. Can you tell where?

Next week we're looking forward to a bit of travel to visit relatives in Wisconsin. It will be nice to get away. 

Week 27

Another lovely array of blooms from Tennessee. Cousin Karin blesses us each week with one or more pics of her floral arrangements.

I continue to enjoy the changing local blossoms on my daily walks.

On this day I also caught sight of one of the painted rocks Rebecca and I placed a couple weeks ago.

Monday evening, Karen served a delicious and colorful meal, and for dessert freshly picked wild black raspberries, very abundant on their property.

Michael is still trying to finish painting our house. How to safely reach the highest part has taken trial and error. He checked out the different lifts available for rent. He thought this smaller one would work, but it was impossible to get it close enough to the house without destroying the flower garden.

Wednesdays, Rebecca usually comes over while Kayla works. We have a fun time doing a variety of activities: walk, games, piano, books. She loves to play hide and seek, not only taking turns finding one another but also locating Humming Bird (a finger puppet). This time it perched on Serenity while we played the piano.

The guys well-planned backpacking trip had to be postponed one day due to rain. 

Thursday, I went along to the church to see them off and then walk home, trying a new path.

On their way to Charles Deam Wilderness, they stopped at a diner in Edinburgh for their famously large tenderloin sandwiches.

Campsite fellowship

The beauty of the panoramic landscape and the tiny details on the path

For me the first two days were quite lonely. Then Saturday I had a couple of visitors in the morning, and worked at the Helping Hand store in the afternoon.

Trisha and Jackson

It was good to have Michael back and go out to eat together that evening to La Palma Mexican restaurant nearby.

Birthdays and more camping

Karin´s weekly pic tells me the leaves are turning in Tennessee also, even though her flowers are more muted pastels. 

In our area, we had the most colorful week thus far--fleeting autumn beauty. We are making the most of the lovely weather for both work and play. Michael is steadily cutting and gathering wood for the winter. There is a plentiful supply of dead trees in our woods.

My research material is growing almost at the same rate as the wood pile. This week a friend in Argentina, who is also working on the history of the mission, heard of my interest and began sending me numerous documents. This valuable resource is comparable in quantity to the dead trees in our woods! 

There are two October birthdays in the family--our oldest and youngest grandchildren. Kayla was 29 on the 5th, and Jude eight on the 8th. We met Kayla for lunch on Monday, ever delightful. 

This photo of Jude when he was one may explain why he is an advanced reader now!

Two camping adventures completed our week. Michael went backpacking with a couple of friends in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness in the Hoosier National Forest. The 100 year-old ruins they came across must have fascinating stories to tell.

Last week, when abuelo got back from one of his camping trips, Rebecca asked if he would take her next time. We decided to have a practice experience in our woods Friday. We walked the trail, found treasures, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and slept comfortably all night. 

However, Michael/abuelo was up early to go riding with his Muncie friends.

The weekend wrapped up Sunday with another concert in the park, a marimba ensemble this time. Can you guess how many instruments they brought?

Leah invited us for an evening meal of tacos. The red bush in their yard was perfect for a photo-op! 

That's all for Week 41. Only eleven more to go in 2020! 

Week 40

I wonder how long cousin Karin is able to provide a Sunday bouquet for her church? 

In our area there was a frost advisory early on in the week so I began to bring in the many plants. Relocating them, finding the right spot for each one, is a challenge each year as they grow and multiply throughout the summer. This is the beginning of the houseplant migration.

Sunday, September 27, marked a milestone in our youngest grandson's life. Jude will be eight years-old next week. His heart has been tender toward the things of God. From the time he invited Jesus Christ into his heart, he has been wanting to make this life choice public through baptism. The family learned there would be baptisms that day when they arrived at church!

This was the last week of daily 30" trips to Marion for Leah's 3" radiation treatment. It was also when the skin burns appeared and multiplied. Though painful, Leah's attitude was one of gratitude that her skin had held up that long, and that the end was near!
Indeed, graduation day was Friday!

I will miss those times together sharing about our days. And will have fewer opportunities to see Kalani. We stopped by the kids' place a couple times on our way. On one occasion, "little man" (as Leah calls him) was waking up and just stared at Nana and then abuela, and back and forth. I had labeled this pic "Sleepyhead and His Sweet Mama." Destiny corrected me, "struggling mama" she said. How many of you remember those demanding days with little ones?

 

This week was my alma mater, Grace College and Seminary's 2020 Stay-coming, Throughout the week we could watch interesting videos highlighting programs, people, and progress. I participated in two events: a virtual 5K, and a 45+ Year Class Reunion Zoom meeting.

Wednesday, a writer-friend joined me for an enjoyable walk/jog 5K. Notice, I am wearing Grace colors!

I have no photos of the Zoom meeting, only good memories of faces and stories, new and old, and praise to God for all that He has been doing through the many lives impacted by the training we received at Grace.

Michael is making the most of the Autumn weather and extra time before robotics starts back up. He went camping twice this week! Wednesday, another solo hike to Salamonie's primitive camp sites, same trail as last week. He loves being out in nature but was surprised to find out that he quite enjoys the solitude as well.

Meanwhile, I went to Elijah's last soccer game, watched him for awhile, chatted with Sam, and then left early. We were increasingly cold as the sun went down,

 

Thursday, Rebecca came over to watch the Basics Jr. Bible story video and work on the activities together. We practiced the theme verse and framed it.

Michael's second overnight camping was with a church group, 13 men and boys. He cooked their Saturday morning breakfast.

Saturday morning I walked the Upland Greenway trail and enjoyed the weather and the variety of wild flowers.

"Autumn. . . the year's last, 

loveliest smile."

William Cullen Bryant, nature poet and long time editor of the New York Evening Post

2017 Week 32: Vacation

 Just a brief summary of our week away.

Monday we packed. The worst part of vacation is the packing and unpacking!
Ah, but a lovely meal at Stephan's was our first stop--a special celebration for Karen's 42nd.

Sushi, ahi & rice cakes, carrot cake

Spent the night in Indy. Wandered around the state fair tasting various $2 Tuesday specials and ventured on the new Skyride.

Next we drove to Clifty Falls State Park and set up our base for the week.

Supper and breakfast

The first full day we rode the tandem into the nearby town of Madison.

Thursday we drove to Hanover College and cycled that bike trail.

That evening we hung out in the Clifty Inn lounge to listen to former colleague Win Corduan's music on streetjelly.com. A selfie was in order to show off our matching t-shirts, a daily vacation tradition.

Rain was in the forecast for Friday so we didn't attempt a tandem outing but rather chose a walking tour of historic Madison and ended up at a fun concert in the park.

The weather was perfect, the atmosphere very friendly and pleasant. We sat on the hillside and played a 2-person version of Spades.

Mike was perfecting the rules, and I wanted so badly to learn and beat him so back at the campsite we played till midnight by lamplight and warding off insects with an espiral. That smoke reminds me of childhood summer nights.

Saturday we disassembled our campsite just in time for the 2 p.m. deadline. Last week when we hurriedly made our vacation plans, I totally forgot that  Rebecca's 3rd birthday party was planned for that very day. Oh, no! Mike had already made all the reservations when I remembered.