Christmas Week 2019

Christmas 2019 was all I could have hoped it would be.  It was so great to be with so many of our children again after a two-year absence. (although, having Kirsti, Ryan, Alice, and Sarah with us in Phoenix last Christmas was pretty awesome!)  We enjoyed a Bethlehem dinner on Christmas eve followed by the annual watching of Scrooge.  Sarah, Elise, Steve and I went to Rainbow House (a children's shelter) Christmas morning to cook them breakfast.  Due to the nature of the facility, the number of children in residence varies day by day and even hour by hour so that morning, we only had one 16 year old boy to feed plus two workers.  He was a real sweet kid and he wanted to cook the scrambled eggs.  Beckie drove over from St. Louis about 3:30, Tamara came at that time too but Steven had to work at the station so we didn't see him until 5:00.  Emily, Joe, and kids arrive about 6:15.  Since Christmas Day dinner was just ham and salads and all kinds of finger foods, we didn't have a "formal" sit-down meal.  Oh, Sarah's friend Aaron Barnard and our family friend Patrick Layton also joined us.  That evening, my musician heart was full as we had singing around the piano!  Noah, Lucy, and Quinn also played their Christmas carol assignments from piano lessons. 

The Southerlands and Beckie stayed with Steven and Tamara (Sarah and the dogs were in our basement) so we were able to all hang out together on Thursday, the 26th, too!  Again, poor Steven had to work.   But, he joined us as we had fun in the evening playing games.  During the day, Steve, Sarah, Emily, Beckie, Elise, and went to a mid-day showing of "Little Women".   

Bethlehem Dinner and reading from Luke

Elise and Sarah Christmas morning in "matching" shirts

playing celebrity

Other activities during the week:

Sarah and I and the dogs enjoyed a walk Monday morning.  We went along the Bear Creek and even went off trail a bit and found a shelter made by some homeless person!  Good thing it wasn't occupied at the time or, if it was, he/she didn't have a gun!!!!  Steve and Sarah and the pups went on a different walk Tuesday morning.

Steven, Sarah, Steve, Patrick Layton, and I saw "Star Wars" Monday night.  LOVED it! 

I have been feeding my friend Elizabeth's cat, Smokey, all week. 


The St. Louis family left for home Friday morning.  For lunch, Sarah, Steve, and I ate at Bankok Gardens Friday and then she left for a visit to Julina in Indiana for a couple of days.  Steve and I kept the dogs. 

They are good dogs but the current situation at our house has made caring for them just a teeny bit tricky because foundation work started the day after Christmas and the front yard is a muddy mess.  The weather was unseasonably warm all week, melting remaining snow and making the back yard also a muddy mess.  Plus, Lily has figured out how to escape from our fenced yard and the foundation folks have removed part of the fence to allow their equipment to get into the backyard.  Bottom line - every time the dogs go out, they have to be on leash and we have to dodge (sometimes unsuccessfully) the mud.  Oh, and on Saturday it rained!  I am SO excited to finally have this work begin because it is the catalyst for all the other work that will be done on the house.  I keep telling myself this as I dodge the mud and look at my destroyed front lawn and landscaping.  The first casualty was my tart cherry tree that was so faithful year after year in producing a huge crop of cherries.  There is lies next to our wooden nativity....

Below is one of the two holes dug in our garage.  See how DEEP it is!!!  We also have three piers in our front yard and two in the back.  Hooray for progress!

A strangely long week

....although, I should not be surprised when we have a start of a week with about six inches of snow and BITTER cold and end it with temperatures in the mid-fifties!  The first photo is last Sunday night.  And today, the snow is melted and we're all going around in shirt sleeves.

The snow was SO pretty, though, and we discovered that our little all-wheel drive Element does very nicely on snow.  I had a rehearsal last Sunday afternoon and I was able to just tootle right there and back with no problems..... well, I tootled at 25 miles per hour but with nary a skid.  I had to work at the Music Suite both Monday and Tuesday but beyond that, Steve and I pretty much hunkered down here at home.  We did more baking.  

Even by Thursday, there was still snow on the ground.  I looked out my bedroom window in the morning to see the following sight....

Yep, that is orange and red spray paint!  Dig Rite strikes again.  At first, I couldn't imagine why they had come by and then I wondered - could it possibly mean that our foundation work will start soon?  And, sure enough, Absolute Foundation Recovery called that afternoon to announce that they were coming the day after Christmas!  Hooray!  Wait.....the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS?????  And we have to have the part of the garage next to the house cleared of everything by then?  Well, it is what it is and we started last night by moving all of Sarah's boxes into the house so she could sort through them.  YES!  Sarah is here.  She arrived Friday night after her epic two-day drive from Utah.  Hooray for Vicki and Joe Southerland who let her sleep at their place in Aurora on Thursday night.  Below is Steve with the granddogs.  Never skipping a beat from a two-year absence, they are awaiting their nightly treat from Grandpa.  We don't have doggie treats any more but tortilla chips do quite nicely!

Yesterday, we had our annual visit to St. Charles.  Steve, me, Emily, Joe, Noah, Lucy, Quinn, Larkin, Elise, Beckie, Steven, Tamara, Sarah, Melanie and friends Aaron Barnard and Patrick Layton all came.  Weather was in the high 40's and we went earlier than usual since Beckie had to work in the evening and it turned out to be a perfect time. 

Here is Emily and Lucy visiting with "Ebeneezer Scrooge"

Here is Emily, Lucy, and Larkin in the attic of one of the shop buildings.  Most of the places along the street were built in the mid-1800's

 Larkin holding Aunt Beckia's hand.  She has forever linked Beckie with IKEA - hence the combo name.

Lunch was at an nearby McAllister's Deli where we ate and all showed our treasures we found during our two-hour shopping adventure in St. Charles.

Steve and I pooled our treasure-finding money and bought the galvanized tote on the table below.  I believe it was originally used to haul milk bottles.  

It was nice to let someone else do the cooking for Saturday lunch.  From Saturday the 14th to Thursday, the 19th - six days - we had guests at our house for dinner five different times!  Each night was enjoyable with good friends but, wow, that is a bit much!

Today was our ward Christmas sacrament meeting program.  Three short talks (all VERY good) with music before, inbetween, and after.  I was asked to coordinate the music a few weeks before officially becoming the music chair, thankfully, so I had time to put things together.  The Primary children sang first..."Mary's Lullaby".  Then I played in a trio with a flute and a piano - we did a lovely, simple arrangement of "The First Noel".  I accompanied a young women trio singing "I Heard The Bells".  This was a fairly sophisticated vocal arrangement but the girls were definitely up to the challenge.  It came came from an old book - a collection of holiday songs... some sacred, some secular...that my mom had passed down to me!  In fact, there are my mom's pencil markings in the arrangement so sometime in the late 50's or early 60's, she sang that very same song in church!  Pretty neat, I think.  The final number was Silent Night played on the piano and organ with a violin obligato.  Tamara played piano, I played organ, and the violin was played by an extremely talented violinist I just discovered in our ward.  We had a false start, though.  Tamara played the first two measures and when I came in on measure three, it sounded AWFUL!  Someone prior to the service had tinkered with the pitch selector on the organ and had moved it to a couple of steps higher than the piano!!!!!  I had to stop Tamara and adjust the dial and THEN it went without a hitch.  One time before, when I was the organist, I noticed that the opening song seemed extremely high and looked down at the pitch knob and, sure enough, it WAS set to a very high pitch.  From then on, I always checked the knob every Sunday.  But, it has been almost ten years since I have been the ward organist so I was not in that habit.  I am now!

We watched "One Magic Christmas", "Miracle on 34th Street" (the newer one), and "Elf" this past week.  Christmas gifts are all wrapped and cards are all sent.  Goodies have been delivered to neighbors and friends.  Time to sit back and just enjoy Christmas with family.....

An A+ kind of week

It is a cozy Christmas-y Sunday afternoon here....Steve is baking pumpkin bread, we have Christmas music on the stereo (kind of nerdy music - Christmas music from the Renaissance:   a Praetorius mass for Christmas morning), and, it is SNOWING outside.  

Friday night, we went with two of the over-45 single sisters (Betty McKinley and Elizabeth Crippen)  to admire the Magic Tree.  None of the wintry weather that night - it was just perfect.  And, we enjoyed a meal at Arby's afterwards (well, I used my second free-pizza coupon from Mod and ate it at Arbys).  Later that evening, Steve and I watched "Holiday Inn".  

The week began with Steve and me braving the Mall!  But, since it was only December 9th and a Monday afternoon, it wasn't too bad.  Tuesday we went to St. Louis for the second week in a row - temple again and piano lessons.  I wanted Quinn and Lucy to have Christmas carols to learn but neither are really reading notes on the staff yet so I just wrote down note names of six songs for them to work on - songs like Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls.  I hope they are successful in interpreting them!  While there, I borrowed a small piece of sculpy (hooray for crafty daughters who keep that kind of stuff lying around!) and Mrs. Claus FINALLY has a spoon again!  

We bought this figurine decades ago at Aldi and sometime over the years, the spoon was lost.  But, not any more.  And she now has batter in her bowl, too, thanks to the leftover clay.  

Speaking of creative, I was able to create my rock walk in the back yard again!  Years of settling and the last two years of heavy mole activity had pretty much buried most of the rocks.  Over the space of three afternoons in the last two weeks (when weather was relatively pleasant), I dug up every rock, smoothed over the soil, and replaced most of the stones to recreate this path.  I just love it!

Steve got to visit the dentist again this week - continuing work on reconstructing the back part of his mouth.  He and I watched "Muppet Christmas Carol" Wednesday night.   I worked two short shifts at the Music Suite, I practiced a whole bunch on the choir number that was sung in church today and on the women's trio being performed next week, and I prepared for our Days For Girls sewing Saturday yesterday.  Oh, and I mailed our packages at the post office and started our Christmas cards.  So, I give this past week an A+.

Things just got a little busier

It's December - the season of being busy.  And, last week, I just got a new calling in the ward PLUS I started a part-time job!  Oh, yes.  Crazy!  

My new calling is actually one that is right up my alley - I am the ward music chair plus the sacrament meeting organist.  I'm pretty excited about both.  I haven't played organ in church for over 10 years and believe the ward is ready for musical numbers again during sacrament meeting.  We certainly have enough musical talent.  For example, today in church, I coordinated a string ensemble to play a couple of Christmas carols.  We had seven string musicians - five cellos and a violin and a viola!  And, after I put together this group, I learned of another violinist AND violist in the ward!  Wow....

Here we are in rehearsal before the meeting today

My new job is working at the Music Suite.  Ultimately, it will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1-6:00 starting in January.  This month I have one or two shifts per week to train.  I am truly not bored with life as it is, but I miss the extra spending money I had when I taught cello lessons - particularly money for traveling - and the Music Suite needed help.  I would prefer two days a week but they needed three days so that is what I am doin for now.  Hopefully, the other part-time person will eventually be ready for more hours and I will be happy to give them to her.  Pat, the owner, is someone I have known for years and she knows I won't be here for long.  Happily, as an experienced music teacher and musician, I am kind of qualified for the job.  

At least I won't have Civic Orchestra rehearsals on Thursday nights for about six weeks.  We had our concert on Saturday - in conjunction with the Show-Me Opera company which is connected with MU, we put on Amahl and the Night Visitors.  I love this little opera - it is the second time I have played it with Civic - and it was very nice to have five people supporting me in the audience:  Steve, Elise, and three ladies from the ward (Katherine Eschrich, Betty McKinley, and Elizabeth Crippen)

As mentioned in my last blog, Elizabeth's cat, Dakota, had to be put down and Friday was the day.  I drove her and the kitty to the vet and stayed with her the whole time - which actually took a whole lot longer than it should have for anyone to see us and then to follow through.  Being there brought back all the memories of our beloved animals:  Alfred, Trissy, and Sadie. Sigh

Another unpleasant activity last week was going to the dentist again for more filling repair....this time on the upper right part of my mouth.  The Windom Hill Christmas station on Pandora got me through this time.  

And, it is the time of year for making goodies.  I made my mother's Christmas cake for a potluck last Sunday.  

I made dipped chocolates on Saturday....

And decorated sugar cookies today.  Melanie helped with them but then it was dinner time and I had to finish them later on.   And, while we watched the First Presidency devotional after dinner, Tamara, Steve, and I fashioned cream-cheese mints.  Definitely a tasty weekend.

Thanksgiving week

Birthday flowers given to me from Melanie.  They have stayed lovely for two weeks!

Although the week started happy with my birthday, it took a sad turn on Tuesday when my friend, Elizabeth, asked me to help take Dakota, her sixteen-year-old kitty, to the vet.  She was afraid it was "that time" but, after some blood work, the vet believed she would rally and get better.  As I write this, Dakota has had a few good days in between then and now but more bad days and now she has deteriorated to the point that we are going back to the vet tomorrow for the final goodbye.  So sad.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Kirsti, Ryan and Alice arrived for their Thanksgiving visit!  

It was so great to have them here.  They slept at Steven and Tamara's home who have MUCH better accommodations these days but spent most of their time here at home.  I love this photo that Kirsti took of Alice and Bacon, Steven and Tamara's dog.  He is such a gentle, sweet dog.

On Wednesday, Kirsti and Ryan went out for lunch and a movie and Steve and I got to watch Alice who was SO GOOD!  Happily, she had none of the usual bashfulness that grandchildren who live far away from grandparents exhibit.   Here is another photo that Kirsti took of me and Alice.  She loves Charlie Brown and I played the Linus and Lucy song for her.

Kirsti made matching hats for her and Alice. You can just see the furry ball on the top of Kirsti's hat.  Alice had one, too.

My project while they were here was to finish a dress for Alice before they went back home.  Kirsti mailed me the fabric the previous week and I had it about half-way completed before they arrived.  It turned out really cute, I think.  Here is a photo of front and back (buttons are in the back)

Emily, Joe, and kids arrived Wednesday evening and they stayed through Friday early afternoon.

We put the kids on the floor of one of the empty downstairs rooms and Emily and Joe slept on air mattresses in the room next door.  Below is Larkin helping me with my sewing....

It was SO wonderful to spend Thanksgiving with our children again after a two-year absence.  Five of our seven were with us  - and we were able to Face-Time with the other two (Julina and Sarah).  It was a delicious feast and a perfect day.

On Friday, we drove to Boonville to check out Starr Pines.  I was not really in the market to cut down a tree but we had hoped to have a hay-ride, let the grandkids run around the trees, and drink some cider by a warm wood burning stove.  We got to do all but the first activity as the wagons were not running for some reason.  It was a chilly and damp day so we didn't stay long but DID have time for a photo with all the grandkids!

After lunch, the Southerlands headed back to St. Louis but the Merrills joined us as we drove to Menards to pick out a Christmas tree from their selection of Fraser furs (my favorite kind).  They left soon after Alice's nap for Kansas City.  Their flight was very early Saturday morning so they booked a hotel near the airport to save getting up at the crack of dawn to make that long drive.  Only, their flight was postponed numerous times and the 7:30 departure eventually became a 12:30 departure!  Happily, Delta provided lots of free snacks and even McDonalds.  And, Alice met a friend while she waited...

Elise came over Friday night to help us decorate our Fraser fur

 

and we decorated the rest of the house on Saturday.  I close with a shot of a few of the dozens of beanie babies we keep for the grandkids to play with.  Between the bucket of Legos and the tub of little horses and these beanies, they were pretty content.