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Well, it's time to say goodbye to 2010. Some people concen- trate on how bad the "old year" that is leaving has been, but tonight I'm thinking of things I can be thankful for. Last January's snow gave Norm and Ava a chance to show off their bright red knits. I know Norm is thankful for the warm leather jacket. (Recognize it, D?)
We were grateful for the chance to travel a lot this year as well. February and early March found us on the beaches of Ft. Myers and Sanibel, where it was cool, but not snowy. We got to eat out, visit a wildlife preserve and a research farm, play with Sam the poodle and hang out with two of our favorite guys.
The spring was spectacular this year, and just as we enjoyed the flowers we had planted, we also gave thanks for those that were planted by someone before we moved here. Thinking of these daffodils always reminds me to look for ways to leave something beautiful for those who will follow me.
Memorial Day weekend brought fun in the form of the Gypsy Caravan. After two years of staffing a booth for our church in drenching rain, we decided not to have one this year, and guess what, the sun came out! Norm posed with our two main bargains we found: a rolling shopping cart that is lightweight and versatile, and a hand painted bird house. When he went out to take it down after the fall freezes, he found a pile of sticks inside. Maybe next year there will be a real nest!
June found us heading to Colby for the High School Reunion, which always ends with a picnic in Fike Park. This year it was not too warm, not too windy, and people enjoyed lingering. Norm, Don and Walter look serious here, but they soon reverted to their jolly selves.
Maxine and Harold liked the easy chairs. Harold had to take a short trip to the local hospital after this afternoon in the park, but he got well soon and we are glad. Larry didn't come to the picnic but we surprised him with a birthday party at his house the next day. I think he knew something was up.
John and Nan Sanders enjoyed Nan's class party, and we crashed it to say hi. Nan autographed many copies of her first novel, All Stubborned Up, during the weekend. We are so impressed by this achievement, and glad that she is recovering more mobility every day.
We dashed home from Kansas in time to pack and fly to North Carolina. I was so thrilled to get to attend the Quad- rennial assembly, which was held in Greensboro. When 2000 women sing, or dance, or listen intently to a speaker, it sends shivers. Norm was one of about 80 men who also attended.
Elsewhere on the blog I've written about our trip to the Blue Ridge and Linville Falls, as well as to some of the country where our ancestors settled for a generation or so in the late 1700s. We were so thankful to be able to see these places, to walk on these rocks, smell this air, and wonder what it was like for those who came before us. We bought a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that pictures the falls, and we have been working on it since Christmas night. I think we might have 20% of it done right now. Those gray cliffs look familiar! 
The Blue Ridge Highway's Linn Cove viaduct is suspended over some of the more fragile hillsides in this national park. This picture reminds me that we still have roads to travel in 2011, and that with planning and care, Americans can both use the wilderness wisely and preserve it for the future.
As we close out 2010, I also am thankful for FaceBook, although I spend more time there than I spend blogging, I fear. Through the social network revolution, I've been able to catch up with all 15 of the editors of the student newspaper that I advised before I retired, as well as other staff members of that era. These are amazing young people, and I am still proud of them. I also am thankful for finding or being found by college friends (Jan in Maryland, and others) as well as a dear long-lost childhood friend (Ann, now in Dallas.) Many of my high school senior class friends are there too, and we look forward to seeing each other again, 50 years later!, in 2011.
So, as I get ready to pour a small glass of wine (from Kansas, sand plum to be exact) and get out the brass bells of sarna to ring on the front porch, to all my old acquaintances, and friends and family, may you enjoy the happiest of new year's in 2011. Love you!
Going all the way back to my childhood, I remember the usual post-Christmas, pre-New Year's greeting: How was your Christmas? Or more likely, Did you have a good Christmas? The question is largely rhetorical, kind of like "hello, how are you?" as the ubiquitous greeting that no one really wants to hear a detailed answer for. The answer to "how are you" is supposed to be "fine." The answer to "did you have a good Christmas" is "oh yes," followed by a litany of fabulous gifts received, goodies consumed and perhaps relatives visited. This week I've been thinking about our Christmas, and how it was this year, and why it seemed so satisfying. For a couple without children or grandchildren, Christmas, at least the gifting part, becomes more about other people, sometimes people we have never met. It also becomes a time of remembrance of cherished family and friends we will not see again.
Every Advent, our church decorates a tree (photo above) in the sanctuary, but its ornaments are scarves, mittens and hats. By Dec. 19 it was loaded, and the next day it was "undecorated" and the warm knit items went downstairs to Isaiah 58 ministries for distribution to their clients. I like to think of a toddler wearing the cute tiny mittens I found, or a man wearing the driving gloves, or a student wearing one of the scarves knitted by a friend in our knitting group. This is one of my favorite holiday trees. Of course my other favorite holiday tree is ours, the one we put together every year, that Norm patiently strings the white lights on, that we carefully put the beaded garlands on before adding the ornaments. This year we didn't go with a theme, but put on the whole collection, from grandma Mc's german glass lanterns to the little sled my dad made to our newest item, a wooly lamb that I bought at Ten Thousand Villages during Quadrennial last summer. It came all the way from Peru! Our Christmas tree is what ties us to past generations and past holidays spent together.
Remember when you were a child and you waiting to see what Santa would bring? I was always impressed that Santa came every year, even if my dad was off to Dallas driving his bus, even though our 800-square foot tiny house lacked a chimney. Mother had a Santa set that she cherished and put out every year. I have it now, along with other Santas I've collected over the years. The little house and the short green trees in this photo are from Mother's set. The train is among the oldest I have that my dad made. Mother always said the red caboose was a car he made especially for her. He made them all by hand, from patterns in Model Railroader: no kits. 
Now the 1923 Story and Clark upright that my grandfather Mc bought for mother on her 9th birthday is just the right width to display a length of track, the engine and four cars of Daddy's O-gauge masterpiece. At Christmas a lot of my Santas prefer to travel by train so they get to hang out here for a month or so. Daddy made the little gray house, too. It's a duplex, and there is a separate outhouse out back. If anyone cares, the doors do open and it's a two-holer. The sleigh from mother's Santa set was made by Daddy, too. And mother's reindeer, which are hollow and seem to be made out of some kind of hollow plastic, date from the late 1930s or early 1940s. Just like the Christmas ornaments, and the nativity sets, the Santa scene recalls those many good Christmases of childhood as well as those of my and Norm's years together.
No they aren't real. These are the porch poinsettias so they have to be of fabric to withstand our cold Missouri nights. These greet the mail carrier every day as they are just above our mailbox on a post.
I have the feeling that often "good Christmas" is a code for "did you get a lot of presents" or "did you get the presents you wanted." This year we decided not to get presents, but to give them. It feels good to know that someone in St. Louis has warm hands and head, that someone in Florida will get tutored in literacy, that a woman in a developing country will get sewing supplies or even a microloan, that children at a day care center in St. Louis that serves low income families will have new equipment to replace what was lost in a November flood, that an elderly person living in a retirement home in Tulsa will receive compassionate care, that some third-graders in a city school will get a new book for Christmas. These were our gifts to each other and others this year, and it was a very good Christmas indeed. We hope you received meaningful gifts, the gifts that you wanted, and we also hope that you had an opportunity to give good gifts-- perhaps the gift of yourself, your love or your presence to someone this Christmas. At our house we observe 12 days of Christmas, so we will be celebrating all the way to January 6, maybe longer. Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, ho ho ho Merry Christmas!
Since the anniversary of Haiti's earthquake is a mere 3 weeks away, I'm posting this link to the long-awaited Christmas blog post from Kim and Patrick Bentrott. They were missionaries in Port-au-Prince and they had been sponsored by churches in the St. Louis area, so we had met them and were already following their adventures on Kim's blog. Because they were in the process of adopting two Hatian children at the time they evacuated to the US, they have been unable to return and resume their mission assignment. They must wait until the children receive citizenship, which is taking longer than anyone ever anticipated. But Kim fills us in on what they have been doing in this post. You can click on the title of this post, or on the link here to go to it.
This morning, Norm and I sat in our living room in front of our Christmas tree, lit our Christmas candle and read the story of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Luke. In this account, Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem to be enrolled on a tax list, and while they are there, Mary gives birth to the baby and cradles him in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Angels announce good news to some nearby shepherds, and they come to see the child. The angels proclaim "peace on earth" and "goodwill" to humankind.
The figures in the nativity set above that my mother first purchased over 60 years ago at a discount store portray this version of the story. There is a donkey, a dog, a couple of sheep, a shepherd, Joseph and Mary, and an angel. There is also a cow and a second shepherd, bigger than the other figures, that were added later. The original set also came with three Wise Men, including one who appears African in origin. The set didn't have any camels, so those too were added later, and they are a little larger. I'm not sure why there are only two. Perhaps the store ran out of camels that year, or maybe two were what mother could afford out of her grocery money.
The Wise Men, or Magi, aren't mentioned in Luke's account; they come from the version in Matthew's gospel. In that story, Jesus is born in Bethlehem because that's where Joseph and Mary live, and the wise men from The East follow a star until they come to the home where the baby can be found. They present three kinds of gifts and worship the child. Because there are three gifts, we assume there were only three wise men, although scholars today seem to think there could have been more, perhaps even some wise women, on that pilgrimage. We assume they rode camels because that was the transportation system in those times, but it is tradition, because the Gospels don't say. So my mother's nativity set puts these two stories together, and this is the mental picture most of us carry with us when we think of the Christmas story. Sometimes we are suprised when we go to the Bible and read the stories anew, because what they say, and what we remember of tradition, may not always be the same. Yet some themes endure: good news, wonder, and the angels' message "do not be afraid."
The second photo above is of the first nativity set Norm and I purchased, when we were living in Denver. We went to a winter festival at Georgetown, Colo., and the simplicity of the three gilt figures--Joseph, Mary and the Babe in the manger--appealed to us because it emphasized the central characters in the Christmas drama, without the extras. A year or so later we found the simple wooden frame at another craft fair. From time to time I may add a couple of other figures, usually a folk art angel as in this scene from this year. But this nativity helps us concentrate on the baby and his parents, the very human figures in this often supernatural tale.
Neither of the remaining Gospels has a narrative of Jesus' birth, but the Gospel of John brings yet another perspective: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....And the Word became flesh and lived among us." There it is. God became flesh, like us, and lived among us. That is what led the magi across a desert to see. That is what the angels proclaimed to the shepherds, who were the untouchables of their day. The baby who grew up to be known as Jesus of Nazareth often compared himself to a shepherd. And Christians today who dedicate their lives to serving the least of humanity around them will testify that the Word lives among us, still.
Merry Christmas.
It's a merry, snowy Christmas Eve in Bel Nor! I took all of these pictures a little before noon when Norm went out to scoop about an inch off the driveway. It's only about 30 degrees so as you can see the street is responding well to the ice melting chemicals the village provided. This photo is looking south from our front porch.
The view to the north from the front porch shows a neighbor's outdoor lights buried under a gathering blanket of snow on his evergreens. The glow at night will be awesome! We are planning to stay in tonight and have our traditional goulash supper, and listen to our Christmas music and maybe watch the Renaissance special on PBS. A spry little elf seems to have visited our Christmas tree, too. We'll have to see about that in the morning.
Out in the back yard, the birds are having a Christmas feast at two different feeders. It's amazing the quality of the zoom on my camera; this feeder is all the way at the back of the yard and I was on the back porch. We also have a bird bath heater so they have been dipping in and out of their "spa" today, too.
Norm plugged in the lights in the bushes along the driveway this morning, right before the snow started. It's kind of hard to see them right now. Our neighbor Barb and Ava have gone to be with her family in Illinois, so it's pretty quiet around here. Our neighbors on the other side have family visiting them, but for the most part, the village seems very quiet and almost deserted.
I've written before about dreaming of white Christmases as a child and not seeing one until I was 21. Our family in Oklahoma and Texas are having a rainy Christmas this year, but in some areas the rain may be welcome. Somewhere the sun is shining, surely. When it comes out here, I'll be sure to take a picture and post it! Meanwhile, stay warm and cherish the chance to be with your family and friends. Blessings to all, and a little bit later, to all a good night!
My sisters-in-law, cousin and best friend are this blog's most faithful readers, and you all check in on average once a day. Visitor #8700 Wednesday morning was s-i-l Carol Ann, down Irving TX way. On Facebook she was saying she had finished wrapping gifts and washing the crystal and was getting ready to go to the store for some items she would need for the family dinner on Christmas Eve. Gee, Carol, I wish I could channel some of that energy! And you had time to check Home Stories, too--not once, but twice! I wish I had a good prize for the #8700 milestone but in the meantime, please accept my thanks for reading--even when there is nothing new.
This is a wonderful time of year...busy...exciting...sometimes tiring. I have a lot of thoughts and I will try to find time to write and post some pictures soon. Meanwhile, I hope everyone is enjoying this season!
Well, it's time to say goodbye to 2010. Some people concen- trate on how bad the "old year" that is leaving has been, but tonight I'm thinking of things I can be thankful for. Last January's snow gave Norm and Ava a chance to show off their bright red knits. I know Norm is thankful for the warm leather jacket. (Recognize it, D?)
We were grateful for the chance to travel a lot this year as well. February and early March found us on the beaches of Ft. Myers and Sanibel, where it was cool, but not snowy. We got to eat out, visit a wildlife preserve and a research farm, play with Sam the poodle and hang out with two of our favorite guys.
The spring was spectacular this year, and just as we enjoyed the flowers we had planted, we also gave thanks for those that were planted by someone before we moved here. Thinking of these daffodils always reminds me to look for ways to leave something beautiful for those who will follow me.
Memorial Day weekend brought fun in the form of the Gypsy Caravan. After two years of staffing a booth for our church in drenching rain, we decided not to have one this year, and guess what, the sun came out! Norm posed with our two main bargains we found: a rolling shopping cart that is lightweight and versatile, and a hand painted bird house. When he went out to take it down after the fall freezes, he found a pile of sticks inside. Maybe next year there will be a real nest!
June found us heading to Colby for the High School Reunion, which always ends with a picnic in Fike Park. This year it was not too warm, not too windy, and people enjoyed lingering. Norm, Don and Walter look serious here, but they soon reverted to their jolly selves.
Maxine and Harold liked the easy chairs. Harold had to take a short trip to the local hospital after this afternoon in the park, but he got well soon and we are glad. Larry didn't come to the picnic but we surprised him with a birthday party at his house the next day. I think he knew something was up.
John and Nan Sanders enjoyed Nan's class party, and we crashed it to say hi. Nan autographed many copies of her first novel, All Stubborned Up, during the weekend. We are so impressed by this achievement, and glad that she is recovering more mobility every day.
We dashed home from Kansas in time to pack and fly to North Carolina. I was so thrilled to get to attend the Quad- rennial assembly, which was held in Greensboro. When 2000 women sing, or dance, or listen intently to a speaker, it sends shivers. Norm was one of about 80 men who also attended.
Elsewhere on the blog I've written about our trip to the Blue Ridge and Linville Falls, as well as to some of the country where our ancestors settled for a generation or so in the late 1700s. We were so thankful to be able to see these places, to walk on these rocks, smell this air, and wonder what it was like for those who came before us. We bought a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that pictures the falls, and we have been working on it since Christmas night. I think we might have 20% of it done right now. Those gray cliffs look familiar! 
The Blue Ridge Highway's Linn Cove viaduct is suspended over some of the more fragile hillsides in this national park. This picture reminds me that we still have roads to travel in 2011, and that with planning and care, Americans can both use the wilderness wisely and preserve it for the future.
