December Happenings

I'm always a little surprised to log into my blog and discover it's been a whole week since I wrote anything. Oh I've written plenty in my head...does that count? In my defense I'm distracted by a little homemade gift I'm putting together, one that requires many man hours, and by the time I pack it up so we can eat dinner I don't feel much like blogging.

I prefer to blog first thing in the morning, but we're on some kind of crazy schedule here lately where we're staying up too late, and then sleeping later than I'm used to, so my day starts later and I'm just off. I blame retirement.

So how about an update?

The house: Still not built-ha! But 'stuff' is happening and you can tell it will be an actual fully formed house eventually. I'm going to go ahead and tell you I'm not that interested in cement pouring-waterproofing-backfilling talk, other than to note it's all 'stuff' that's gotta happen before framing can occur. Hubs is all over the above mentioned 'stuff' and I'm glad, because I feel like someone needs to be, and if he weren't retired that someone would have to be me. Yay hubs!

He goes out to the lot several times a week and while he's out I set up my home made Christmas project on the dining/kitchen/everything table and spend those hours crafting. Win-win. Except I should have started this project earlier. ahem.

Christmas Decorating: I'm walking a fine line when it comes to decorating here. We sent all of our Christmas decorations to storage and don't really want to spend money buying a lot of new things, yet we need a little something to make it feel festive. Most of our Christmas decorations hold some sentimental meaning and I'm not really one to go out and buy something for the sake of buying something.

Except I had to buy something, because a bare tree is no good.

We bought an inexpensive tree, which meant it needed a little zhuzzing. I filled in the gaps with ribbon and settled on two boxes of pretty ornaments and a couple strands of red and gold beads. This was my first time trying the ribbon wrap, and I really like the way it turned out.

Hubs put a string of colored lights on our balcony railing and I think we can we all agree colored lights make the world a happier place. Also, the sky here puts on a light show of it's own, so there's that.

Somehow I ended up with my advent wreath here, but the candles didn't make it so I've ordered those online and they should be here this week. I bought a candle arrangement for the table too, because it needed something, and also a cute box to hold our Christmas cards since there's not an obvious place to hang them like I normally do.

The living space in our apartment isn't large, so I have to be careful not to overdo. It would be easy to make this place feel like a shop, but so far I'm exercising restraint, reminding myself we still have to get people in here.

My people: In an unexpected happy twist, the newlyweds get to come 'home' for Christmas. If you knew my son-in-law's work schedule you'd understand what a treat this is, and to say we're all just a little bit excited would be a huge understatement. I haven't seen my Daughter1 since May. MAY! I told hubs that just won't do. I would have made a trip out this fall but it's been such a crazy year, and with our two moves and getting the house underway, I just didn't feel like I could squeeze another trip into the calendar. That won't happen next year. I need face time and I'm not talking about the techie kind, although I'm certainly grateful for that.

Daughter2 is so happy knowing she'll have a whole week to hang out with her sister, to open Christmas Eve pj's sitting side by side like they've done every year since they could walk, to sip cocoa and eat candy canes and clementines and pose for a photo on the steps (yes girls...it might be the steps leading up to the apartment, but we will get that step picture!), and to just be together as a family. A family that's grown in the last year in a most wonderful way.

Advent: I absolutely love Ann Voskamp's Advent reading plan The Greatest Gift, and have followed that for the past two years. If you've never read it I highly recommend. She has a way of speaking right to the heart. This year we thought it might be nice to change it up a little, and Daughter2 suggested we read the Advent workbook put out by She Reads Truth. I find I have to do a little more digging on my own with this one, but I love that my girls and I are all in it together.

Well, separately but then we have a google talk conference thingamajig to discuss. We can see each other's faces and that's almost as good as being in the same room. Almost. Anyway the book is lovely and I like the way they're tying the Old Testament in with the New. The devotionals are online via their website (www.shereadstruth.com) if you're looking for a December reading plan. As a side note I am a huge fan of their phone wallpapers which you can download free on their app.

And as it turns out I have a few more things to say, but I feel like this is getting long so I'll save the rest for another time. Plus, there's still that project that won't complete itself, and now there's dinner to be made. There is always dinner to be made.

I hope your December is merry and bright!

Good Grief It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to December and another edition of the weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge. So glad you've joined in here today! If you've answered the questions in this week's random add your link at the end of my post. And be sure to spread some Christmas cheer by leaving a comment for the blogger linking before you. Here we go-

1. Did you watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?

"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."~Linus

Would you agree?

We did watch the special. Charles Schultz was such a talented man and his simple message at Christmas is timeless. I love that the gospel of Luke is read aloud in the middle of a Charlie Brown Christmas. My favorite character is Sally with Linus running a close second. 

Would I agree with the wisdom of Linus? Yes. When the mind is troubled or weighed down with worry  seeking out a quiet corner in nature is therapeutic. Sitting somewhere in the great outdoors helps me put life in perspective. 

2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind?

Quite a few things came to mind when I wrote this question, but I'll go with the first thing that popped into my head. The sound of a lawn mower on a Saturday morning. When I wake up and hear a lawn mower on a Saturday morning I'm momentarily carried back to my childhood. 

My dad mowed the grass every Saturday morning. Eventually my brother took over the task, but the sound makes me think of my dad. I can see him still, in his work-outside-trousers and white t-shirt, pushing the mower at a precise angle across the grass. The sky is always blue in this scene, and the air warm, but not too warm. 

Mowing the grass is what everyone did on Saturday mornings way back when. There was a comfortable sameness to the routine of suburbia in 1960-something, and the sound of a mower on a Saturday morning can still wrap me up for a brief minute in that safe place called childhood. 

3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least)-see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone or celebrate Winter Carnival in Quebec.

I won a trip-whoohoo! Yes I'd be excited, and if you make me choose I'll say the Aurora Borealis in Norway. The Northern Lights are on my bucket list. Really they all sound like locations I'd enjoy, with the exception of the Ice Hotel. I do know people who've done the Ice Hotel and it gets mixed reviews. I think it might be one of those things you do just to say you did it, but I don't know if I'd actually enjoy that one. The others are all destinations I think would be fun. 

4. Who or what keeps you humble?

Isn't that why we get married? To stay humble? My hubs keeps me in check-ha!

5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain.

I really enjoy choosing our card every year. I don't mind addressing them either, and I love checking the mailbox during the month of December. I'm glad everyone hasn't gone the email route. There's something special about 'real' mail, and I think Christmas is an occasion that calls for real mail. Are you sending cards this year? 

6. Gingerbread-yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?

It's okay. It's not my favorite holiday flavor, but if you set a plate of gingerbread cookies in front of me I won't turn up my nose. We made faux gingerbread houses when the girls were young. 

Technically they were graham cracker houses, but still fun and messy and everyone overdosed on too much sugar in the creating. Good times! 

c. 2009

We kept it going into their college years, and for the record... 

c. 2009

...my girls never outgrew the seriousness with which they approached construction. 

7. What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into a new year?

I have a homemade Christmas gift I'm putting together and I do hope I don't drop the ball there. I quite often drop the ball when it comes to creative projects. It's not that I don't have good intentions, it's more like my crafty daydreams don't exactly match up with my crafty ability. ahem.  I'll keep you posted. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My daughter2 shared this recipe with me and it's a keeper. 

One Pan Autumn Chicken Dinner

Simple, healthy, pretty, and delicious. You're welcome.

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 246

Can you believe it's December? It's also time for another round of Hodgepodging, Volume 246 to be exact. Answer the questions on your blog then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with all your friends and neighbors.

1. Did you watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?

"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."~Linus  

Would you agree? 

2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind? 

3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least)-see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone or celebrate Winter Carnival in Quebec? 

4. Who or what keeps you humble? 

5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain. 

6. Gingerbread-yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?

7. What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into a new year? 

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Thanksgiving

I know everyone is now in full on Christmas mode, but I'm still stuck on Thanksgiving. We did buy a tree for the apartment today, but haven't done any decorating. I've ordered cards but they're not in yet, and I've done very little shopping so Thanksgiving it is. 

I'm not one of those people who can skip the holidays just because we're living an in-between sort of season right now. I want twinkle lights and cinnamon candles and I don't want turkey dinner in a restaurant. I'm not knocking that if it's your tradition, and if I need to have dinner in a restaurant to accomodate someone's travel or family situation, then sure I will do it, happily I might add. But that's not our tradition and holidays are a time my heart longs for the memory of childhood and the little things that mark the holidays as our own. 

As you get older, or more specifically as your children get older, you have to adjust the picture you have in your head of how a holiday will actually look in real life. I get that, and I do keep my mind and heart focused on what's most important. That doesn't mean I won't try to have at least a smidgen of the traditions our families have enjoyed year after year as part of any new celebrations we embrace. It's going to require some creativity this Christmas, but I'm working on it. 

Today though it's November, and November is a month set aside for counting our blessings and giving thanks so let's talk turkey. 

Daughter2 and her boyfriend have been dating for some time now, but we've never met his family in person. We've never been in the same state at the same time (it's us remember), so this was the year we decided to be intentional in changing that. His parents invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their family in the Buckeye State, and we were happy to accept. 

We drove up on Wednesday and enjoyed a casual dinner in their lovely home, followed by a whole weekend of lovely moments spent chatting, eating, and refreshing our ping pong skills. I used to have ping pong skills, but haven't played in such a long time and I'd forgotten how much I loved it. 

I always think of my brother when I play ping pong. He used to play me a game most nights after dinner and he always beat me, even when he very sweetly played right handed (he's a lefty). Those games have a page in the scrapbook I keep in my head. 

Also, I will go ahead and say what everyone is thinking. Yes my youngest looks like me. Exactly. If you saw a picture of me at her age you would swear it was her. Except I wasn't as fair haired back then. ahem. 

Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious and very similar to what I would have prepared if we'd been at home. This made me happy because I don't like anyone to mess too much with the Thanksgiving menu. There was lots of football watching and a little Foosball playing and the weather was phenomenal so there was even a picture perfect evening spent beside an outdoor fire. I didn't take a lot of pictures because this was our first time in their home, and I try not to be obnoxious with my camera until you know me better. 

Friday morning hubs and I met for coffee with friends from our Maryland days. These friends moved to Ohio right before we moved to England, but we've stayed in touch and Daughter2 and their Daughter1 are still great pals. We saw the mom and daughter in January at Daughter1's wedding, but there's not a lot of time for lengthy conversation at a wedding, so a coffee catch up was nice. Her hubs came too and we hadn't seen him in years, so that felt extra special. 

Daughter2 and her boyfriend picked us up from our coffee date and drove us downtown to meet his family for lunch. We dined in a restaurant overlooking the river with a really pretty view of the city. After lunch we spent a few hours wandering through the Newport Aquarium on the Ky side of the river. 

In case you can't tell Daughter2 loves the Aquarium. 

She's something of a shark aficionado, not sure where that came from, but from the time she was very small she's had a keen interest in sharks. She's full of all kinds of knowledge and shark trivia which honestly is not a bad thing for a third grade teacher to have on tap.  

In the Newport Aquarium you can touch a shark if you dare. You can also walk across the shark infested waters via a net bridge, which of course we did. 

I'm pretty sure that's not as dangerous as I made it sound.
She was in her happy place here.

Before we went back to the house for dinner we made an ice cream stop at Graeters. I hear if you're in the Cincinnati area you must try Graeters and y'all know I'm a rule follower. People from Cincy always go on and on about the ice cream here, and I must say it lived up to its reputation. I had peppermint stick which was completely scrumptious and felt really festive too.

Friday evening we hung out at the house, had pizza, watched more football, and just generally made ourselves at home. We had such wonderful hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in their home.

We drove back to SC on Saturday with a brief planned stop in TN to say hello to hubs parents. Daughter2 rode back with us since her boyfriend had a couple more days in Ohio, and it felt a little bit like the old days roadtripping with one of our girls curled up in the backseat. We don't have kids in the backseat too often anymore. Sniff.

Of course there was one more must-try dish before we left town-the iconic Skyline chili. It's hard to describe if you've never tasted it, but basically its a chili-ish dish served over spaghetti or atop a small hotdog called a coney, topped with lots of cheese and onions if you want, or just a whole lotta cheese.

Skyline doesn't taste exactly like traditional chili nor does it taste exactly like traditional spaghetti sauce. It's somewhere in between and it's good!

We had an uneventful drive home and I feel ready now to welcome the season of Advent. While it seems like so many people have had Christmas up and running in their homes for several weeks now, we're just getting started. That's how I like my holidays-one at a time.

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of blessings too!

Hodgepodge Blessings

Welcome to this pre-Thanksgiving Hodgepodge. I'm thankful for everyone who visits here on Wednesdays, for all of you here today who keep this mid-week hop a fun and friendly corner of the Internet. If you've answered the questions today, add your link at the end of my post. Be sure to visit the person who linked before you, because that's part of what keeps this train chugging along. Happy Thanksgiving!

1.What's something you wish you knew how to do, but feel like it's too late to learn?

Speak a foreign language like I was born there. 

2. Your least favorite thing to shop for? Why?

Bathing suits. Will all women answer the same way? Why are they so weirdly sized? Why do all women know you need to buy a size larger than your normal size? Why are they so teeny tiny? Why didn't I exercise more in my 30's? 

3. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were growing up?

One thing I like about Thanksgiving is the way it doesn't change a whole lot from year to year. Our menu has been tweaked very little, and the day is still spent happily in the kitchen preparing a comfort food feast. We eat late afternoon and follow that up in the evening with leftovers in the form of a turkey sandwich. I make my mom's cornbread dressing and all is right with the world. 

For me it's still about family and friendship and feeling grateful. The sound of the Macy's parade is background noise to a busy kitchen while fabulous smells fill the house. Later there's football and maybe a walk, a nap, and a board game of some sort. It's definitely about Thanksgiving and not at all about Christmas. It's about people not things. We never put our tree up before Thanksgiving and we would never think about hitting the stores on this day that seems meant to give us a reprieve from a very noisy world. 

4. What's something that when other people see it, reminds them of you? Explain.

The first thing that popped into my head was hedgehogs. When my girls see hedgehogs they think of me. It's just one of those now funny family happenings going back to the time I accidentally grabbed a dead hedgehog from our pond WITH MY BARE HANDS thinking it was a leaf and upon realizing what I had IN MY BARE HANDS proceeded to totally and completely freak. Now you're probably wondering how I could mistake a hedgehog for a leaf, but it was floating on it's back and shudder. Shudder shudder shudder.

5. If you could guest star in a TV show, what would it be and why?

Chopped. I think it would be fun to fill in as a guest judge. 

6. Have you ever farmed or spent any time on a farm? Are there farm stands in your little corner of the world and do you make it a point to shop there? If so, what item do you particularly like to buy from a roadside stand or farm shop?

My dad grew up on a farm near Denver so yes, as a child I spent some time there. I wrote a little bit about those days in a post you'll find here. 

That's my baby sister and I just hangin' out in the cow pasture back in 1960something. 

Most recently hubs and I lived in a rural corner of New Jersey so lots and lots of farms and farm stands. I made it a point to shop there in season, but most shut down after the pumpkin harvest. In summer months I'd stop almost every day and buy fresh from the farm corn and tomatoes and then whatever fruit or other veggies happened to look good. Corn on the cob is my favorite thing to buy from a farm stand. 

I'm happy to say there are a lot of farms and farm stands in our new little town too, so I'll continue buying from the grower whenever I can. 

7. What's something you've experienced recently that made you feel a sense of awe or wonder?

Not to sound like a broken record here, but this-

Pretty Place. I dare you to stand on the mountainside at sunrise and not feel the good kind of small. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

"By surrendering ourselves to quiet communion with God, by resting for a while from all our thinking and acting and serving, by leaving all things for once in our Heavenly Father's hands, secret wounds are healed, gathering unbelief is dispelled, and displaced armor refined." Oswald Chambers

I read this quote earlier in the week on someone's Instagram feed, and it resonated with me so deeply. I love the wisdom of Oswald Chambers. My prayer as we enter this Advent season is that each one of us finds time for rest from the thinking and the doing, time for quiet communion with God who heals our secret wounds and reminds us we are loved with an everlasting love. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 245

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Why not take five from the craziness that is menu planning/grocery shopping and play along? Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow (Thanksgiving Eve) to share answers with the universe. See you there!

1.What's something you wish you knew how to do, but feel like it's too late to learn?

2. Your least favorite thing to shop for? Why?

3. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were growing up?

4. What's something that when other people see it, reminds them of you? Explain.

5. If you could guest star in a TV show, what would it be and why?

6. Have you ever farmed or spent any time on a farm? Are there farm stands in your little corner of the world and do you make it a point to shop there? If so, what item do you particularly like to buy from a roadside stand or farm shop?

7. What's something you've experienced recently that made you feel a sense of awe or wonder?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

What I Want In A World Gone Mad

Friday afternoon. A good time to blog because nobody reads on Friday afternoons, right? Lately it feels like nobody reading might not be a bad thing. And everyone can relax because I'm not going to weigh in on the refugee argument here. Not precisely anyway but make no mistake, it is an argument.

Everything is an argument, and that's what I really want to weigh in on.

Raise your hand if you've changed your mind on a particular issue because somebody posted a snarky comment on Facebook insinuating or outright saying you're an idiot? Yeah.

So can't we just stop? Why can't we stop? Why is there this insatiable need to prove you're right and I'm wrong. You're smart and I'm not. You love the poor and I don't. You're a Christian and I'm not and by golly I'm going to convict you of your transgressions in a public forum, and I'm going to do it in a way that doesn't just quietly offer you another point of view. I'm going to eviscerate you, judge the state of your heart and life because you asked a legitimate question and I'm a Bible expert.

Except very few people posting and commenting are actual experts. They're just average citizens with a Facebook page or Twitter account, a lot of opinions and most importantly, absolute certainty in their rightness.

I think we can all agree the refugee crisis is serious and complicated. Like almost every other issue that's divided our country in the past few years, this isn't an all or nothing deal, so why can't I have more than five minutes to make up my mind about what I want to see happen?

I'm not alone in feeling the need to step back and look at all the pieces of the puzzle. So many people feel conflicted about the right way forward, but woe to you who don't have an instant opinion.We're not allowed to feel conflicted about anything anymore. An issue arises and in a matter of seconds everyone and their brother is posting in ALL CAPS!!! where they stand, which is their perogative, but please don't tell me where I stand when I haven't been able to articulate it myself.

With almost everything that's occurred in our nation and around the world recently we've rushed to judgement. We're sheep, and nowhere is this more evident than in the online community. People follow speakers, high profile Christian authors and commentators, celebrities, political figures, people they admire for one reason or another and when that high profile person spits out their position, we're literally like sheep. We jump on the bandwagon without hesitation and heartily echo yes me too, without taking the time to figure out if what that person has espoused is true and accurately reflects how we feel or if we just lack the energy to swim upstream.

There are big problems in the world. Huge. Ginormous. Too big to tackle on our own. We need conversation. We need ideas to be floated out there, lots of ideas. We need to be able to have reasonable discussions about the important issues facing our communities and our world, and it seems we've lost the ability to do that. Calling someone names isn't going to get us anywhere, except further and further across a divide I fear we're in danger of never mending.

The judgements hurled at people who disagree with some particular point of view have made me feel a little bit sick to my stomach this week. I want to curl up and hide away from the nastiness, to not speak, voice an opinion, or ask an honest question, but here I am blogging. Because I want things for this tired troubled place we temporarily call home.

I want us to think for ourselves. I want us to listen. I want us when things go pear shaped to wait a second for the dust to settle and facts to emerge before hitting someone over the head with an opinion. I want us to quit judging the quality of a person's heart on the basis of a status update. I want people who hold positions of influence to be gentle in their responses to those who are trying to understand a world gone mad.

Do I think this post is going to change anyone's mind or behavior? Probably not, but that's not why I write. My blog is a journal, not a point of persuasion. I don't have a big following, but some important people really do read my blog. My daughters. And I want them to know their mother believes no matter how ugly the world becomes, they can still choose to be beautifully kind.

There is much written online I suspect is later viewed with regret, but dear daughters you will never be sorry you were kind. The world is harsh. Choose kindness.