Wow, it's been 11 months of silence here.

Today is Thanksgiving.  I polled my family to determine if I should cook the traditional meal or we (once again) buck tradition and go out for steak.  Steak won a resounding victory.  I have mixed feelings; it's nice not to go to all the work involved with a traditional turkey dinner but I'm sad as I hear of others gathering with extended family and having a wonderful day together.

The truth is that, since the death of my mom, my family of origin continues to become more and more fractured.  It's quite sad.  There is no hope of a large family gathering.  I did consider inviting others with no family, but I started the thought process too late to act on it.  Maybe next year.

This year Dad will join us again.  Yes, he is still here and (relatively) healthy.  But that's it.  My little core family and my Dad.

I have much to be thankful for.  My kids are healthy and we have a pretty good relationship.  Given that they are in the thick of their teen years, that alone is something to be VERY thankful for! My husband is healthy and he is so good to me. I am actively learning of how much God loves me.  I've struggled with that, so this is a big deal to me.

As in every life, much has happened in nearly a year. Perhaps I'll share.... Seems a very empty promise.

Creating Christmas Nostalgia

Before we were married I began stitching a Christmas stocking for Eric.  We were married 4 years before Anna was born and some time after her birth I stitched her stocking.  Two years after Anna was born we welcomed Ethan and I began a stocking for him.  I actually misplaced that stocking so I purchased another shortly before some Christmas  - probably his 3rd.  His is the most detailed of the family and I quickly realized I was not going to be able to complete it before Christmas.  In fact, I did not complete it for several years!  (I habitually pick Christmas stitching up a few months before the holidays only to abandon it a few days prior to Christmas when I realize I can't possibly finish.)

Once I had finally finished Ethan's stocking, I began to work on mine.  I finished the stitching a few weeks ago but hadn't bothered with assembling it until last night  - when Anna told me peanut cakes (our favorite Christmas treat) could wait but I  MUST finish my stocking.  So off I went to my craft room.

In the course of years and multiple moves I had lost the felt which was meant to be the back of my stocking.  (I did, however,  find Ethan's original stocking!) As I rummaged through my craft room searching for the felt, I found something better and inspiration struck.  Actually I found 2 items: a child size pillowcase that had been my Dad's and my favorite fabric purchased in Taiwan.

The pillowcase was cream with a hand crocheted edge.  I feel rather certain that my grandmother made the case.  If not her, then likely her mother.  I had actually used it on a small pillow for my children when they were little,  so that pillowcase held multiple levels of sentimentality for me.  Over the years though, age was catching up with it and the seam was fraying, rendering it useless as a pillowcase.  It struck me that the crocheted trim would be lovely at the top of my stocking! And since I was going to cut it apart I decided to use the body of the case as the lining for the stocking.  I love these moments of brilliance - they are so painfully rare.

What to do about the back of the stocking?  I have a box of beautiful fabrics I purchased in Taiwan and Vietnam, including many BEAUTIFUL silks.  My favorite fabric though has always been the bright floral Hakka pattern.   The Hakka are the indigenous people of Taiwan. Based on the exuberance of their signature fabric I'm certain they're my kind of people!   I purchased the fabric in 3 colors: red, purple and blue.   I chose the  blue for my stocking, and the reason prompts me to share another detail of the piece.

The kit for my stocking was purchased eons ago.  It has made many moves with me, likely including the move to Taiwan.   As I was feverishly working on it last year, I realized that as you peek into the windows of the house it's walls are aqua or turquoise colored.  The funny thing is the walls in the dining room of my current home - which you see through one of my front windows - are turquoise! That knowledge prompted me to use turquoise thread for my name, though the pattern stated it should be green.  The pattern also included an alphabet in block letters, similar to those for the rest of the family.   I decided to go off script so I looked online for something more my style.

Since I had focused on turquoise for my name, I decided the blue (turquoise-ish blue) would be a great choice for the back.  I am incredibly pleased with the finished product.   The only problem is that now I feel like the other stockings are a bit boring!

Here they are:

And now please excuse me, I need to get back to making peanut cakes. 

Merry Christmas! 

Summer Vacation Without Kids (Part 2)

In the strangeness that is part of us since we lived in Taiwan, the first place we headed upon arrival on Vancouver Island was the city of Victoria's Chinatown!  It was quite disappointing.  There was the obligatory gate:

And there remains just one street, one block long, which seems to be original to when the Chinese first settled in Victoria.  It is called Fan Tan Alley.  It was wonderful, but there was far too little of it.

Since Chinatown took such a small bit of time, we headed in search of gardens.  The entire next day was set aside to visit Butchart Gardens, so on this day we went to a lovely public garden called Beacon Hill Park.

I believe the flowers are self-explanatory, but isn't this the coolest pine tree?

And this beautiful peacock was strolling the grounds.

All in all, Beacon Hill Park was possibly the most beautiful public space I've ever seen.

Summer Vacation 2016 - no kids (Part 1)

Late in August Eric and I set out on another vacation, this time without the kids.  We had invited them but they thought it sounded boring, so our youth pastor and his wife stayed at our house with the kids and Eric and I set out on another road trip.

I have previously shared pictures from Multnomah Falls.  This is similar and nearby, but different.  I learned of this hike while searching the internet for less touristy things to do.  This is called Horsetail Falls and the hike was classified as "easy".  Two overweight, middle age, non-athletic people could only wonder what a difficult hike would have been!  We hiked up and up and up for - ? 1-1/2 miles?  It was lovely and we absolutely enjoyed it, but we had to stop MANY times to catch our breath!  (For the record, I had begun a diet shortly before this trip which I am still on.  I have lost a considerable amount of weight.  I tried to insert a "before and after" picture here but... you know, technical challenges.)

We were ultimately headed to Vancouver Island, British Colombia, Canada.  I have loads of pictures which I will share in subsequent posts.

Family Summer Vacation 2016

For some reason, on the rare occasion that I write here anymore, I write about the melancholy events. I decided to lighten up and share some of my millions of pictures of good times.

Way back in June our family took a wonderful vacation in which we visited several new-to-us places.  First stop was Bandon, Oregon.  We rented a quaint old cottage on the beach.  The kids surprised me by loving it.  We've stayed in some very nice places over the years; this wasn't anything fancy but I'm quite sure they preferred it over any of the fancy places we've stayed!

You can walk the beach for miles and find some interesting carved out rock areas.  We did spend a good bit of time doing just that.

We took a day trip on a jet boat up the Rogue River.  Fairly scenic and just something different for us.

Of course I made my husband pull over many times so that I could take flower pictures.  Oregon's climate is perfect for growing a lot of gorgeous flowers.  Here, roses have overtaken a deserted building which is marked as the "Book Nook".

Probably my favorite flower in Oregon, the hydrangeas are as big as dinner plates, and the color...!

From Bandon, we travelled south to northern California to see the famous Redwood Forest.  It was quite spectacular.  The height of the trees is crazy!

Next we circled back up to Crater Lake, Oregon.  The lake was apparently formed after a volcano blew up eons ago.  The water is a spectacular shade of blue.  I have pictures that show the color better, but I couldn't load them tonight so this will have to do for now.

See that kid on the left?  That's my 13 year old son (only 12 at the time of this picture) who is almost 6 feet tall already!  He is standing next to his "big" sister.  Their height difference is cause for a lot of joking around our house.

I'll try to remember to get back here soon.

Peggy

As you probably know, my Dad has been dealing with cancer for about 18 months now.  The good news is that, as I write this, it is still just looming in the background.  I expect that to change any day; in fact, tomorrow I will accompany him to the doctor for an update.   Overall though, Dad is doing quite well.

The not so good news is that cancer has come screaming to the foreground in Dad's friend, Peggy.  I have to admit I was shocked by this development.  Peggy seemed so healthy until a couple of months ago.  She developed a nasty cough which seemed perhaps to turn into pneumonia. In actuality she had lung cancer.  This week she finally learned that she has stage 4 lung cancer and it's time to be sure her things are in order.

I've known for weeks that Peggy has lung cancer, and I was under no illusions about the seriousness.   Very rarely does anyone survive lung cancer and Peggy is not a young woman,  so I knew how it would end.  Nevertheless,  the news today with a sort of time frame attached caught me off guard.

Peggy has become a fixture in my life,  a part of my family,  if unofficially.  Peggy always looks on the bright side of things,  gives everyone the benefit of the doubt,  and finds humor in things.  She is kind, gracious and classy, if a bit irreverent some times.  She has been a bright light in my Dad's life even as he continued to mourn the loss of my Mom. She has taken more of an interest in my kids than any of their own grandparents did, and that has meant a great deal to me.  In short, I have grown to love Peggy more than I ever thought I could and I am deeply saddened by the knowledge that I will soon be losing her.

God Knows

The friend of a friend of mine posts a scripture writing plan on Facebook each month.  I don't know how she chooses which scripture to include, but I am confident God leads her in her choices.

The method of writing scripture which has proved profitable to me is to read through the days passage and decide what jumps out at me.  I purposed at the beginning to not look for something I wanted, but to trust God for emphasis.  Then as I write I
highlight the portion that stood out.  As days and weeks go by, I look back over the entries and read only the part that stood out to me.  It is amazing to me how those highlighted scriptures tie together. Not only that, but they speak directly to my heart and my need at the current time.

Through all of the horrid news this month, God has spoken to me in such a reassuring way.  I feel compelled to share what He has whispered to me this month:

July 1, Psalm 40:1-3
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

July 3, Psalm 37:5-9
Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  Do not fret - it leads only to evil.

July 4, Psalm 37:10-11
A little while, and the wicked will be no more.

July 6, Lamentations 3:22-26
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

July 7, Psalm 130:5-6
I wait for the Lord...more than watchmen wait for the morning.

July 8, Hebrews 10:35-36
(I actually read further and highlighted verse 37)
For in just a very little while,  "He who is coming will come and will not delay."

July 10, Ecclesiastes 3:11-14
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

July 11, Isaiah 40:28-31
His understanding no one can fathom.

July 13, Hebrews 12:1-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

July 14, 1 Peter 2:19-23
When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate.

July 15, Deuteronomy 31:6
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them.

(Note: I referenced the entire passage for each day but only typed the portion that stood out to me.)

The primary word that returns to my mind over and over is this:  "Do not fret - it leads only to evil."

As I am tempted to get riled up about our political situation,  God says do not fret - it only leads to evil. Perhaps the evil for me in this situation is growing angry toward people who hold different opinions from me.

As I am tempted to be fearful because of all the killing, God says do not fret - it only leads to evil.  Maybe the evil here is distrust of people who aren't like me.

I'm not positive of what the evils are that I am tempted toward, but I am absolutely certain God will keep me from the evil as I look to Him and wait quietly for His salvation.

What about you?  Do you feel afraid? Vengeful?  Uncertain of your future?   God wants to calm your heart too.  I encourage you to read the Bible if you don't already do so and ask God to speak His words of peace to your heart.