The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Ah, the holidays.  Busy, busy times, much to do, and not enough time.  A little history.  When I was growing up, my mom's family lived a great distance from us and were never a part of our holidays.  My father's family lived (mostly) in our small town and we, at least when I was small, usually got together with them, usually at our house.  Mom would cook a wonderful meal, complete with seafood cocktails for starters and going on through the turkey with trimmings to pies, pumpkin and mincemeat. Our decorations were simple:  a tree and a few other things including a small creche.  

My best friend when I was growing up lived a few blocks away and had a large extended family including grown sisters and a brother along with their families.  Christmas was a huge undertaking at their house and I was part of it, if only on the edges.  I loved it all!  Decorations, indoors and out, a huge tree, days of baking, stockings, and a huge gathering on Christmas Eve.  

When Dan and I married and finally settled into our first little house (complete with mortgage), I began to recreate the Christmases I remembered at my friend's house.  I made stockings (very simple ones at first) and fortunately, Dan liked to decorate the outside of the house with lights.  I was on my way!  As the years passed, I added more and more to our traditions. Decorations in every room of the house, yes, including the bathrooms!  I baked and baked.  Christmas was almost always at our house, with Mom and Dad coming to stay.  After our kids grew up and married, we continued to celebrate here most years and it grew to having four generations celebrating together.  We missed my brother and his family during most of this time because he lived in the midwest and south.  Phone calls united us as we passed the phone around to share thanks and love.  I loved it all!

Fast forward to the last few years.  Dan and I have grown older (not old, but older!), and we can tell our energy levels have dropped.  Our son moved far away and is no longer a part of our celebrations.  My parents are elderly and lately struggling with health issues.  Things change. I need to learn to change.  I realized that this year when, in an attempt to be all and do all for Christmas, I once again came down with a bad cold.  Too much to do, and I wore myself out.  Which does not make for good Christmas memories.  

My brother and sister-in-law are back in our state, although quite a ways away.  Their second daughter, Kirsten, is three hours away from us, and a plan was hatched to celebrate Christmas with our whole family at her house--my parents, Dan and I, and Bruder Bear and his family minus their oldest daughter, Jennifer who lives in the south.  I worked hard to cure my cold, but Dad was down with a bad back, so plans were somewhat up in the air.  Then my sister-in-law called to say that Bruder Bear was in the hospital with chest pains (they were already at Kirsten's) and tests were being run.  Prayers were sent up and we were prepared to stay home.  

The next day, all tests showed John's heart was fine, so he called to tell us to get in the car and come on over. After assuring us he was fine, he convinced us to do just that, so we packed and started our drive.  Mom and Dad, however, had decided not to go, and so they stayed home (which may have been the best for Dad's back, anyway).  

We had a great time at Kirsten's.  Karen cooked up her usual storm and we ate like kings--crab legs, prime rib, eggs benedict for breakfast...  I had a few moments of guilt as I sat while she worked, but I did get to fix breakfast the day after Christmas.  And Dan hung a blind in Kirsten's kitchen that she'd been unable to get up herself.  

We were thankful to spend this Christmas in the company of people we love so much.  The real meaning of Christmas is so easy to lose amidst all the planning, doing, and even the traditions that mean so much. Remembering that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and that he came to set us free and give us eternal life is the REAL reason for this time.  Christmas:  It's all about love--God's love and the love of family and friends.  I hope I remember that next year.  

A Monday Morning in December

So here it is, Monday morning, and here I sit, in my nightgown after a busy weekend.  

It was graduation at the University and Bruder Bear, Karen, and niece Kirsten were here to celebrate their son and brother's big event.  Karen put on a wonderful brunch for the family Saturday morning with yummy breakfast casseroles, fruit and breads and lots of fun visiting.  Ann, Eric and the boys were here, but we all missed Great Papa and Gigi who were unable to make it because Great Papa has a pinched nerve in his back.  

Following breakfast, BB and family headed out for JR's graduation (we don't go, didn't even go to our own!) and I snapped this photo of the graduate and his dad.  His degree is in Forest Products and he will be heading to his new job in Oregon come January.  

Niece Kirsten snapped the photo below of JR and his girlfriend Jill following graduation and I (again, shamelessly) stole it from her.

We had a great weekend of visiting and celebrating. Congratulations, JR!  We are all so proud of you!  ♥

Projects

The socks I'm knitting for my mom for Christmas are coming along.  The first one is done and I'm a good three inches into the second one.  I love knitting in a circle!  As I knit, I marvel that someone first devised knitting, and from there, the intricasies of a knit-in heel totally bowl me over.  Genius minds were at work, for certain!

My next project, when the socks are completed, is something totally different.  The past few years, many quilters have been taken with wool applique.  A few months ago I spotted a cute kit in a quilting catalog and decided I would give it a try.  It's a Christmas project and we all know I'm a pushover for Christmas decorations. The kit came complete with wool and frame, so that helped clinch the deal.

Here's a closeup of the pattern:

I have the perfect spot for this long narrow picture:

See the area above the basket to the left of the front door?  I used to put a small quilt there at Christmas, but when we put the moulding around the windows, the space became too small.  I think this little project will be just perfect there!  All I have to do is get it made. . .

Meanwhile, laundry is churning and a can of Pledge is sitting on the kitchen counter.  Bruder Bear and family will be arriving Friday afternoon for the weekend.  If I don't want them to choke to death on the dust, I'd better get dustcloth in hand.  ♥

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

And if you don't believe the title, check out this picture of our indoor-outdoor thermometer, snapped just a bit ago:

Yes, dear readers, that appears to be the high point for the day because it's already dropped to 10.4 degrees. So thankful for a warm house, warm slippers, and hot coffee!  

I watched the D-man (Daniel) yesterday while Ann and Eric and Keaton were north of here at a Lego Robotics competition.  Eric headed up a team of six 12-year-old boys and they have worked all fall on their robot which had to meet certain criteria in a given scenario. They were rewarded with two first places and qualified for state competition! (Read about the program here.)  A full day, starting at six in the morning, didn't seem like the thing for a little guy, so I was happy to be able to spend the day with him so the others could enjoy the competition. We all had a great day!  And Papa Dan showed up in the afternoon bearing a Cyrus O'Leary sour cream lemon pie, so the three of us enjoyed a little "coffee break" with yummy slices. Daniel loved it!  We shared with the others when they got home.  And where was Cameron you ask? Well, he watched D until I arrived at ten, and then he worked on homework until it was time to be picked up at 12:30 to go play in two basketball games for his school. (He's on the JV team and is also often tapped to play with the varsity.) 

Meanwhile, Christmas is fast approaching and the other day I decided I'd see if I could get another pair of socks knitted for my mom.  I'm over half way done with the first, so I think I'll be able to do it!

If the yarn looks familiar it's because I knit my first pair (since high school that is) out of the same yarn two years ago.  I love how it creates such a unique and almost scandinavian pattern.  I think she'll like them!  

Keep warm!  ♥

Thanksgiving

Yes, I know it was a week ago, but we all know I was busy, so here I am.  We had a wonderful day with Ann and family.  My parents were planning to come, too, but Dad caught a cold so they thought it prudent for him to stay home and get well.  At ninety, he's not as young as he used to be!  The good news is that he's feeling much better.

I took over the de rigueur green bean casserole, but used my home canned green beans, which I think, made it extra delicious.  I also made a sweet potato casserole and took the fixin' for the boys favorite fruit salad (which in actuality is more like a dessert). Keaton put the salad together while Cameron peeled good ol' south Idaho potatoes (thanks, Bruder Bear!).  Good thing Ann's got such a big and well arranged kitchen.

Ann's kitchen has a big eating/family room area adjoining it and while Cameron lit a fire in the fireplace, Eric and Daniel got cozy on the loveseat.  

Once the dinner was about ready, Eric and the boys rearranged the furniture, moving the table in front of the fireplace and moving the loveseat and end table closer to the kitchen.  

The boys were all ready for the food!

And so the rest of us rallied around, too.

Ann has a wonderful set of dishes she calls her "Thanksgiving dishes."  They came to her through Eric's mom and had belonged to her mom.  They have leaves on them in fall colors and, with many unique serving pieces, are just perfect for a big Thanksgiving feast.  

We ate until we could eat no more and then put off the pie until after playing some games and Daniel's bedtime. Then we took our pie downstairs to the TV and proceeded to watch Home Alone 2 and giggle our way through the remainder of the evening.  What a perfect day!

And I'll leave you with one last photo, taken by Daniel with my camera.  

It's of his red heart balloon.  ♥

December!?!

I started November off with such high hopes of blogging more often and even got in three posts by the 7th. And then...  After Kathy emailed me yesterday to see if I was still among the living, I realized I needed to stir myself to action.

I have all kinds of good excuses.  First and foremost is the fact that I've always been a one-track person, or one dimensional, or to use a new computer-age term, linear. All to say, I do one thing at a time.  Everytime I try to multi-task, I muck something up.  And truth be told, I usually don't even think to do more than one thing at a time unless I'm forced by circumstances.  Does that mean I'm boring?  Probably.  But that's the way I was made!

So, the most exciting news is that I started scrapbooking again!  Yes, after about five or six years, I'm back at it. Dan's moving of his office freed up my former space and I finally got in the mood to transfer my things back over and begin.  I've done a year and a half so far!  I'm currently working on Christmas 2001.

I'm blessed to have such a great workspace!

I also worked for some days on a machine embroidery project for a friend who works at a local store.  I never take on outside embroidery/sewing work, but when Cyndie asked, it sounded fun so I said yes.  I worked up a design for them and then stitched it out nine times on aprons.  The problem was, the aprons were made of a heavy coated fabric and that made it very hard to stitch on.  I had to lower my machine speed to 1/4 which made the process looong.  And the fabric also dulled needles at an alarming rate.  But the aprons turned out to be adorable and everyone at the store loved them.  I forgot to take a picture, but a big stuffed teddy bear is wearing one in the store's front window, so I hope to take my camera to town and snap a photo to share soon.

Both these projects have taken my time, one at a time, over the last few weeks, and they're my excuse for being away for so long.  I'll be back soon as I have other things to write about.  ♥

Tires

As my faithful readers are aware, the winter season is bearing down on us and that calls for changing tires on our Tundra and Explorer.  Many years ago (as soon as we could afford it) we elected to have our snow tires mounted on their own rims so that Dan (who worked his way through undergraduate school at a tire shop) could easily change them at home.  Before that, he was able to change out the tires on each vehicle's only rims at the company shop where they had tire equipment for the company trucks.

With the advent of our snow this week, Dan changed out our tires on Monday.  On Tuesday our nephew, JR, stopped by to pick up some things we were storing for him and asked if Dan could help him change his tires. He'd tried for two days to get into our local Les Schwab Tire Center, but no luck.  The line of cars, even at 7:30 in the morning, was in the hundreds.  Dan was happy to be of help and in the process he added to JR's skill set.  Out came the compressor and the air gun, the floor jack, and the snow shovel so they could clear off the new falling snow around each tire.  

They had a good time, and in about forty-five minutes, JR was set to go with snow tires all around.

 Consultation in progress.

Air gun in hand.

Smile for the camera!

Dan now refers to our place as "Les Buck's Tire Shop and Waterbed Emporium, East Moscow Plant."  Too funny!