2016 Week 10: Spring Break

Many photos this week. 

Sunday, Michael helped with the first grade Sunday School class again. This time they were focusing on some of the metal works in the Bible so he explained and illustrated the 6000 year-old lost-wax process: sculp clay figure; make a mold then a plaster mother-mold; coat with wax; parts on a tree; coat with ceramic slurry; melt wax out; fire in kiln; melt bronze and pour; break off ceramic; saw tree apart; weld parts together; chase; fix joints; texture; patina. Voilá!  I may finally have understood it, or not!

Monday.
Proud of grandson Skye who is completing high school courses online. . . with a little helper.

Speaking of Rebecca, here are a few photos that appeared on Facebook this week:

Trend setter: a new style--pant-leg arm-warmers; Budding artist; Dog-lover; Sesame Street fan.

Tuesday.

Spring break allowed me the freedom to take Mother to her six-month check-up. She had prepared a carefully written list of concerns, among them a persistent cough which kept her awake. He ordered a chest x-ray and the results sent us to the ER. After hours of waiting and more procedures, she was admitted for overnight observation and treatment for pneumonia.

I went back to Mother's apartment and took care of some things like laundry and cleaning out the fridge. I had not come prepared to spend the night, but Mother has extra toothbrushes and one can be resourceful.

Wednesday.
Soon after I arrived at the hospital, a family friend and neighbor showed up. Mother asked if he was going to sing for her. He did. She mouthed the comforting words. I was reminded of her college years when she was quite the singer herself, as her letters to her parents revealed.
Speaking of old letters. Last week I received a packet from a cousin--correspondence from Grandpa Hoyt, the grandfather I never knew, who left the family when Dad was 16. I always questioned why. I read all those letters to Mother and was comforted by this loving exchange with a granddaughter who'd taken the opportunity to reach out to him. He recognized in his lonely old age the many wrongs of his youth and expressed regret for all that was lost. He had wise words for her and spoke of faith and trust in God. I imagined him now reunited with all his children.

Mother's room was the last one on the top floor. We heard that the resident doctors had started their rounds at 7:00 a.m. on the first floor. It was closer to 7:00 p.m. when one of them made it to her room. He discharged her with a prescription for an antibiotic. It was closer to 8:30 by the time we were settled for the night in her apartment at Grace Village.

Thursday.
Mother was very glad to be able to keep her appointment with the beautician. "They washed my hair at the hospital and it's a mess," she said.
We met Aunt Margaret (as we called her when we were growing up in Argentina) for lunch in the dining room. What a dear friend she has been to all of us. To think that she was our neighbor in La Carlota when they began missionary service in Argentina, and now again lives nearby Mother in the same hall. Margaret will be 95 on May 25th!

That afternoon I drove home eager for a change of clothes after three days and ready to communicate online again. Thankfully I had been able to post a couple photos on Facebook to let people know about Mother, but my phone ran out of data so I experienced a forced semi-technology fast.

Friday

We planned to go out in the afternoon, but Michael was coming down with a serious cold so we couldn't do much. However, we couldn't miss Malachi's performance that evening! We enjoyed watching him and Lexi, his girlfriend, play two of the leading roles in the Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, as Hero and Claudio.

Meanwhile in Alaska, the World Ice Art 2016 Championship's award ceremony was taking place.

Of course, we couldn't be there, but I watched it online, and you can too if you go here. At 20:51 you can see his team receiving 4th place in the realistic category. If you hang in there, or go to the end, you will see the ice candles being lit--six huge towers of ice with wood inside. They said the ice does not melt. Really?

And if you go to Site #15 of the Multi Block sculptures you can see some of the daily photos which show Stephan at work.

The baby gorilla cannot be seen in the final view. Stephan later posted a side view that shows who papa Silverback was protecting, in the nest at his right side.

Saturday.
Michael spent another loooooong day with the robotics team despite the miserable head cold. BTW, the robot has been named Sir Plus.
I drove back to Winona Lake to check on Mother and take her some things.
I had almost forgotten that we were expecting an overnight guest--Kyle Doane, who grew up here and went to school with our older kids. He is now a traveling planetarian--one who virtually displays and explains the universe with the help of the Digitarium Planetarium System.
I arrived home in time to get the guest room and bathroom ready. I had just finished when the doorbell rang!

We had a delightful visit. Kyle has stayed in touch with Leah's family all these years. They all came over that evening and he shared some of his learning games.

Without the special dome, he lit up the guest room with numerous pictures and aspects of the mysteries of our vast universe.

Do you recognize some of the constellations? Notice the varied paths of the stars. We could even virtually fly over the earth. Can you see old lady Spain touching noses with Africa?

Sunday after breakfast, we said goodbye planning to see him come back and do a presentation in our area for a much larger audience.

After 20-some years, the red hair is almost gone. He is now the "salt and paprika" version.

A full week. A different spring break. Much to ponder. Confronted with life and death issues. A family member faces cancer. A community member passed away. A recurring thought, "How does one die well?"

2016 Week 9: Relentless Passing of Time

Sunday the 28th of February, we finally got together as a family to celebrate first-quarter birthdays--Leah 43, Stephan 45, Jimmy 42. It is getting more and more difficult to combine our busy schedules as the family grows.
This Mom barely got the house in order. No time to buy new candles. However, being very resourceful with four ones worth ten years each and a big 3 & 2, we managed. You can't see it but Stephan's was an equation: (4x10) + (3+2).

 Is Rebecca sad the candles are out, or bewildered by the crazy birthday song?

Monday I left early to take Mother to her post-op check-up. She treated me after to a great meal in the Grace Village dining room.

She is doing quite well, but noticeably slowing down, which is not to her liking.

I got back in time to eat again, at Stephan and Karen's. He had to show off his favorite toy--his recently-purchased tractor! I didn't get out there in time with my camera. He was already parking it.

Tuesday, Michael had to descend into the septic tank area and check into a lingering blockage issue, even after Lancaster Septic had made an emergency call the previous Sunday.

My job was to turn the water on and off when told. And also to listen and mark the spot where I could hear the gurgling to determine the location of the buried box.

Between orders I tended to wander off and explore. I discovered several glimpses of spring!

I'm not sure if the blossoms survived the next days' snowfall, or simply went undercover.

When Mike dug for the box, it was gone, totally disintegrated! He hired someone to replace it. You can see the darker spot after it was covered over.
It was fascinating that day to see the snow on the ground had melted, but still clung to the trees.

Thursday was the last day of the eight-week course. I like to get a funny photo to remember the fun times and their unique personalities.

Friday evening Michael offered to stay with the three grandboys and encouraged me to go to Debby (my consuegra)'s 60th birthday party. Kristie and her sister planned a wonderful celebration for their mother, who was dreading the progression into a new decade.

Saturday morning Mike was off bright and early for another long but enjoyable day of working on the robot with very eager young budding-engineers.

I had fun with the little boys who despite going to bed at 11:00 the night before, were up and and about before 7:30 a.m.

They could easily have spent the morning playing games on the computer, but I wanted to make some Grandma-memories, so we went for a walk, ventured down another lane and discovered a new path back through the woods. Can you tell who was leading the way?

Meanwhile, Stephan began his 6-day Ice Alaska adventure. This year he was invited to join another team for the Multi-block competition. You can watch them at work here creating an ice sculpture titled Protecting the Nest. The webcam updates every 30 seconds.

Looks like Stephan was caught by surprise. Hmmmm

2016 Week 8: Endings and Ongoings

Sunday the 21st was the anniversary of Daddy's passing. I went back to the poem I wrote, "Dear Daddy" and later reviewed the photos of the days when we gathered as a family to celebrate his life. 

 This week also marked the end of robot build-season. As always, the team worked extra long hours to meet the deadline.

Tuesday, February 23 midnight, Bag and Tag took place and they celebrated with rootbeer floats.

However, that was not the end. This year they pushed hard to build an additional robot in order to practice the game before competition season. They were also allowed to keep back a limited amount of components to continue perfecting their mechanisms.

Mike told me this morning, almost a week later, that he figured out a problem in his sleep. One of the feats the robot must accomplish to get best points, is to climb the tower at the end. They managed it off and on, and again before the bagging. A certain sound in the process clued him into a recurring problem.
It seems that his brain continues to iterate uninterrupted when he is at rest. He explained the word: an iteration is a repetition which includes a change or additional step, whereas a reiteration is an exact repetition. Anyway, two missing steps came to him as he napped.

The team needs help: this wonderfully built and muti-skilled robot remains nameless!

I learned another word this week Tsundoku--a reading pile, or the tendency to acquire and let books pile up unread. My stacks illustrate this obvious problem: top right--three books that arrived this week; middle right--audio books I have or am enjoying. . .

Wednesday, I planned to help Mother get to her follow-up visit with the surgeon, but winter storm warnings discouraged travel. I was in Marion for a hair cut when I learned that her Dr.s office was closing for the day and we'd have to reschedule her appointment. I was so grateful to make it home safely. However, I found the lane blocked, had to walk the last stretch and wait for Michael to cut and remove the fallen tree.

At that point we were only getting rain and very strong winds. Snow came later.

We woke up Thursday to the birds having a party around the bird feeders.

Friday, February 25th, remembering three years ago when we buried Dad.
Thanks to cousin Stan Hoyt and neice Tina Herschberger we have a wonderful collection of photos.

Five Hoyt siblings with Mother--the day of the viewing and the day of the funeral

Sam's family was only able to come the day of the viewing. How the young ones have changed!

Stephan and Karen came for the viewing and friend Gina. Leah and family came for the memorial service the next day.

Saturday I happened to be at the Red Barn and peeked into the Pottery room at the many pieces accumulating there--a reminder of another of Mike's weekly commitments. Wednesday he had quite a large group of kids during the after-school session.

My Spanish classes were fun, different, interesting this week. The best one was a guest speaker from Chile, who happens to be a tour guide. I asked him to share 15 or 20 minutes and the students would also have prepared questions. He extolled the wonders of his country for two hours and we were enthralled!

2016 Week 7: Tis the season. . .

Yes, the crazy busy season for building robots, and carving ice art.
It's a good thing us wives (Karen and I) are so busy teaching or we'd be pining away.

Monday, when I returned from spending time with Mother, by evening I truly panicked. It was not a normal robotics workday. I was unable to reach Mike all day, he wasn't home, nor did he appear for Stephan's Monday Night dinner. I wrote a note to the Team Members-only group asking if anyone knew Mike's whereabouts. They were amused. Didn't I know this was the last week of build-season? They were holding him hostage until Tuesday the 23rd, etc. . . Turns out his phone was dead and he was too busy teaching. Watch him in action in this video, you might even learn how to solder also.

Five out of seven days this week Mike has been gone from morning till past midnight. And the only reason he gets in then is because one of the girls, like Cinderella, must be home by 12 or her carriage turns into a pumpkin! That means he is on his feet 15 to 18 hours. When we remember that a year ago that would have been impossible due to the pain he was experiencing, we are very thankful for good health to do what we enjoy.

Saturday several Indiana teams got together for a scrimmage, the opportunity to try out their robots on a playing field, detect any problems, and practice the game.

PHYXTGEARS headed to the scrimmage in Greenwood

Trouble-shooting, adjusting, learning, practicing

Meanwhile, at home I had a quiet day. I finally hung up the Christmas gift from Kayla and Matt (he photographed all the grandkids).

I found the perfect place, and love it! Although I want to work on making Skye's picture more proportionate to the others. To make up for that, here's a cool pic of Uncle Skye, who's become a favorite with Rebecca. 

And another cute Skye-photo I came across recently, when he was a little guy.

Kayla and Rebecca came by for a visit and found me taking a nap on the deck on this record warm winter day--72 degrees!

I wonder if Rebecca is ready for the tricycle up in the attic? 

Her little legs don't reach the pedals, but there's other fun to be had with a tricycle!

Another old photo surfaced on Facebook this week: Stephan as a little guy riding the train at the Prater Park in Vienna, Austria.

 Last weekend, grownup Stephan and his helper, were building a train in Culver, IN.

.

We finished at twilight

Surprisingly there was plenty of snow there due to the proximity to the largest lake in Indiana.

However the following weekend in Carmel, it was a different story, despite the ads for the festival:

"Embrace the chilly temperatures of winter with us at the inaugural Clay Terrace Winter Blast!" 

It was fun carving in a T-shirt at Clay Terrace's Winter Blast. Just shows how God does, in fact, have a sense of humor.

Stephan has sculpted an inordinate number of blocks in the last week or two, and even had to rush from one event to another.

At the Perrysburg Winterfest he carved a Gold-worthy competition piece.

Three Sheets to the Wind

If you enjoy that sort of challenge, watch the news report of the event and find the errors.

I was blessed to go out to lunch with daughter Leah. Here she is showing off her new blingy jewelry.

Just when I was lamenting that I had nothing to show for our youngest son, the following appeared on Facebook.

Yesterday was awesome as we learned a great deal about building a better skateboard. Thanks to Lew Ross of Fickle Skateboards for attending as well as Jim Martin of Marwood veneers. Thanks also to Samuel Koch of Life Skateboards and Tim Timothy Barclay of Maximus Skateboards who even though were not present were thoroughly Facebook stalked to investigate their techniques and designs... Here is my home video. 

DIY Skateboard building symposium

That's been our week, each doing our own thing and too busy to get together.

2016 Week 6: Mother

My last post ended with the query, "What will next week hold?"

Monday Mother ended up in the ER with a serious bowel obstruction.

I went up Tuesday. She had slept well (morphine-induced) and was in no pain, just waiting.

Her health professionals wanted the blood flow rates to go down (lower Coumadin levels) to insert a pick line and prepare for surgery, if necessary.

I could only stay an hour and half and then had to rush back to meet my classes in Marion.

I spent Wednesday in the recliner at home with a heating pad to relieve lower back pain, a restful day grading papers and reading.

With pick line in and no change in her condition, Mother's surgery was scheduled for Thursday at 1:00 p.m. when I was due in the classroom. It was hard to focus on teaching, but there was nothing I could do for Mother that day, except worry and pray. 

Alan texted the good news later that afternoon--laproscopic surgery through three small holes, released the kinked intestine bound by scar tissue, and the bowel was restored to normal function. I could finally breathe! 

She was sedated and wouldn't be allowed to wake up till the next morning. When I arrived Friday she was awake, alert, and hungry! But, to her chagrin, had to remain on a clear liquid diet for at least a day.

She had a string of visitors and also enjoyed hearing about all the people everywhere who were praying for her--amazed and comforted listening to the many Facebook or e-mail messages.

I spent the night in Mother's Grace Village apartment and looked through all the family photo albums, searching for pictures of young Uncle Phil (who passed away January 31st) when he came back from Europe after MIA for a time, having been wounded while serving in WWII.

1945, with Uncle Phil

When I arrived back at the hospital Saturday morning, Mother was very serene reflecting on a memory that came back insistently throughout the night. She was in the Glee Club in high school, Miss Ziegler the director. The most vivid recollection was of competing in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The lyrics of one song, taken from Psalm 103, kept going over and over in her mind. When she tried to recite them for me she became a little upset because as many times as she'd gone over them in the night, now she was getting stuck in one part.

She fell asleep. Alan and I talked in the hallway so as not to disturb.

Interestingly, after he left and I quietly resumed my vigil, she opened her eyes and recited the following:

Bless the LORD, oh my soul,

and all that is within me bless his holy name.

He is full of compassion and mercy

long suffering and great in goodness.

He will not always chide

nor leave his wrath forever more.

Bless the LORD, oh my soul.

Mother also told me the story of the terrible winter in Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War, when so many soldiers died of satrvation, disease and exposure.

The surgeon came in with a very positive report--she could eat solids and go back home in a day!

Studying the menu

Before heading back to Upland for the night, I stopped by Mother's apartment to do laundry and gather some clothes for when she'd be discharged the next day, especially her winter coat to face the frigid temperatures.

I slept soundly in my own bed that night and didn't even notice when Mike got back from his long day at robotics.

February 14th was Rebecca's 18-monthaversary! 

 Mother commented, "That 's how old you were when we went to Argentina."

With Daddy in New York                                                                             On the ship

Sunday, Valentine's Day, was also the day Mother got to go home!
I stayed for a day to help her transition, and worried a little after I left. But all reports are that she is coping quite well. Brother Alan is nearby and can check on her more regularly.

Once again I close wondering what lies ahead, but assured of the Lord's promise, "Lo, I am with you always."