Repurposing

You remember Rachel's prom dress don't you? Oh, wait, that was before we all had blogs to show off photos of our kids. Well, anyway, I got an old strapless Victor Costa formal dress out of the boutique, and remodeled it into this two-piece dress. Not bad for free, huh?

So why am I thinking about Rachel's prom dress these many years later?? Today I remembered I had removed the net underskirt from the prom dress and discovered it would make the perfect fishing net for use as a prop in children's church tomorrow. Note the corner where I was mending the net, just like James and John. :-)

Mark 1:16-20 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

The Value of Sparrows (and Juncos)

Matthew 10:29-31 For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!

Another Holiday!

As soon as we got the official word that there was no work today, I started thinking I'd better cook up a batch of Ma Hoyt's Power Oatmeal. But when I couldn't find the recipe on her site, I discovered I already repeated the recipe a year ago on my site. Wow, blogging is a good supplement to my failing memory, huh?

The snow makes for good bird watching too. Yesterday I saw a pair of goldfinches in their winter clothes, and today a small flock of Inca Doves. I need to go add those two to my official bird list.

Official End of Extended Holiday Season

Today is a holiday, MLK day to be exact. No work at the office, but that won't stop us from doing a few things around the house. One thing I did today was take down all of the Christmas greeting cards that I had taped to the wall for display. I left them up long past the other Christmas decorations--partly because I love to be reminded of all the friends we have (and partly because I'm so lazy).

As I took them down, I sorted them into categories as to who sent them:

• 11 - relatives
• 4 - coworkers
• 8 - supporters
• 2 - commercial companies
• 6 - friends from our old church
• 1 - friend from new church (Hmm, looks like we need to work on our apparently fading social skills.)
• 1 - friend from an online forum
• 7 - generic friends

Now that totals 40 cards, but let's not also forget the two that were unsigned and the four that were actually anniversary cards, making a grand total of 46.

(What is it that drives me categorize and count things?)

Wedding

I didn't get any good photos of the bride and groom, but from my seat on the edge of the sanctuary, you can sorta get the idea. John had 9 attendants; Jessie had 7.

Before the ceremony I got my photo taken with one of the beautiful bridesmaids. Notice the Solomon Islands necklaces I'm wearing? They are made of the shell and porpoise teeth used for brideprice. I always wear them to weddings.

Wedding Flowers

The flowers were to have arrived at 9am, but they didn't make it until 11:30, so I got off to a slow start making boutonnieres and corsages for the wedding party. I gave lessons to some of the bridesmaids and they helped me cut ribbon, skewer flowers with wire, and hand over pieces of florist tape.

4 hours later we had all 24 boutonnieres and 11 corsages finished.

I'm home now for an hour before we go for the wedding.

Boxes

After work today I drove Rachel over to the church where the wedding she is in will be held tomorrow evening. I ended up being the only one with enough spatial skills to figure out how to turn these:

Into these:

Yay, me. Fortunately, I was able to give lessons to the bridesmaids and groomsmen so I didn't have to fold all 300 of them myself.

We had a nice rehearsal dinner with yummy Chinese food. As we left, the attendants were filling the boxes with candy. They will make nice wedding favors.

Somehow I got talked into making 34 boutonnieres and small corsages tomorrow morning, so I'd better get to bed now.

Sew

I haven't posted in a few days. Nothing too exciting has been going on with me. I've spent a lot of time remodeling these clothes in preparation for Jessie's wedding on Friday. In one case, the top was remodeled from a size 2 to a size 0! In the other case, the back darts, collar width, collar height, and length were all altered. So much for buying ready-made outfits!

Gary has been practicing his hammered dulcimer in preparation for Friday too. He will be making his performance premier on this instrument at the wedding. He's worried about it going all out of tune when we have to transport it to the church in cold weather.

The bride and her friends are having girls' night out tonight. Tomorrow it will be a bridal luncheon and decorating the church prior to the rehearsal. Friday will be a long day with manicures, hair appointments, photos, ceremony, dinner.

Quiet

Gary is gone. Rachel is gone. I've resorted to turning the Mavericks' game on TV for background noise.

Later--Good ending to that game! Go Mavs!

Bubble

It doesn't take much

to amuse

me.

Getting Married and Living Happily Ever After

Today several thoughts about getting married have crossed my path.

1. I guess it started last night when I saw that Cinderella boy from Boise State proposing on national TV.
2. Next it was an email I received early this morning from the girl whose wedding Gary will be playing the processional for Friday after next.
   
3. Then there was the blog by a 23-year old friend who feels like she's the "only" one who isn't getting married.
   
4. And lastly, the email I got from a woman nearly my age who remarried in December, thanking me for the photos of said event that I emailed to her.

These are my thoughts in response:

1. Cinderella boy and cheerleader girl, may you live happily ever after. (But the odds are against you.)
2. You said the Lord is good for helping you to find "the one." I agree and I pray that you two will live happily ever after too. (But the odds for Christian marriages don't look much better than for the population in general. May God bless you with a strong union.)
3. I'm sorry you are alone. I really am. But you're not alone in being the only one without someone. In the words of a 32-year old single friend, "There's an epidemic of singleness out there." Maybe it is time to consider that perhaps the Lord's plan for you is to never marry. (But the odds are against that. May God bring you the right person at the right time.)
4. Your first marriage was a happy one, and may your second one also be. How blessed to "find someone" not once, but twice in life. (The odds are definitely in favor of you living happily ever after.)
   

Happy New Year!

The new year is almost a day old. I spent the day cleaning and reorganizing and putting away and vacuuming. I often have these "clean up the nest" drives when I'm transitioning between one thing and the next. I tried to get Gary to do some cleaning in his office, but he didn't do enough, IMHO. I'll just keep nagging :-) Back to work tomorrow.

I've got the usual list of New Year's resolutions: eat less, exercise more, be nicer, read more, blog less, don't bug people. We'll see how all that goes.

Errata

I dug out my old yearbooks and discovered I was off by a year. I don't actually know the month this photo was taken, but it was sometime during the 1972-73 school year that Gerry Ford was having dinner with us.

I wonder what other mistakes I should try to correct during these waning moments of 2006?

Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006

I think it was the fall of 1973 when Congressman Gerald Ford came to my college (Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music, which has since merged with Cornerstone University) for dinner. I didn't get to sit at his table, only the student council did, but he was right there at the next table, eating the same greasy food as us. It wasn't long after that that his life got a bit more interesting.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Isn't it nice when science confirms common knowledge?

On the other hand, sometimes science surprises us. Who knew house work would be so good for us?

Nice Rice

Tonight Rachel tried out her rice cooker on our behalf. She insisted on rinsing the rice first ("Kenny taught me how to make rice and he says you have to rinse it") and it turned out great. Except for the rice she poured down the drain while rinsing it. There must be a simpler way.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Thirty-one years ago tonight we were married by this man. He and his wife invited us over for tea a day or two ago.

The Reason for the Season

Rachel won't especially like me using this photo, as she doesn't like it, but I think it does capture the reason for Christ's birth.

Shopping, Not Shoplifting

Gary took mom and me dress shopping today for our Christmas gifts--imagine! Actually, he went to Barnes and Noble while we went to the dress stores. In the end, we both got something, but when I got mine home and looked at my skirt, we discovered they clerk had failed to remove the store's security tag on it. So I found instructions on the internet on how to remove it using a hacksaw. (Turns out it wasn't the type that has ink in it.)

Psst! Ya Wanna See What's In My Van?

Donuts!

Yesterday the van had vegetables. I got a couple nice avocados. Today it was donuts. I got a couple of those too.

You never know what's going to be given away in my neighborhood.

God Bless This House

Tonight our home group from church enjoyed a lasagna dinner at the lovely home of one of our members. Right after that we piled into a couple vans and drove over to an apartment complex where a couple single women live we've been trying to get to come to church. We caroled for them, and boy were they surprised.

Right after that we went over to a house in town that another one of our members just closed on today. But between the time she made an offer and today some people had broken the back door in and had a party (and I don't mean the kind of party us church folks have!). We stood around our friend and laid hands on her and blessed her house. I only had enough faith to ask God to help her get the door jamb repaired and new locks installed quickly; some others of us asked God to chase out any demons left behind from previous occupants.

Two Funerals and a Wedding

Nathan and Marsha both lost their spouses about a year and a half ago. Today they were married with their children as the beautiful attendants. A lovely day for an outdoor wedding, even if it is December 17.


My favorite part of the ceremony was the congregational singing of this song. It brought tears to my eyes. When we got home Gary asked me if I remembered that we sang that same song at Nathan's first wife's funeral.

WE WILL DANCE
David Ruis

SING A SONG OF CELEBRATION
LIFT UP A SHOUT OF PRAISE
FOR THE BRIDEGROOM WILL COME, THE GLORIOUS ONE
AND, OH, WE WILL LOOK ON HIS FACE
WE WILL GO TO A MUCH BETTER PLACE

DANCE WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT
LIFT UP YOUR HANDS AND CLAP FOR JOY
FOR THE TIME'S DRAWING NEAR, WHEN HE WILL APPEAR
AND, OH, WE WILL STAND BY HIS SIDE
A STRONG, PURE, SPOTLESS BRIDE

CHORUS:
WE WILL DANCE ON THE STREETS THAT ARE GOLDEN
THE GLORIOUS BRIDE AND THE GREAT SON OF MAN
FROM EVERY TONGUE AND TRIBE AND NATION
WILL JOIN IN THE SONG OF THE LAMB

SING ALOUD FOR THE TIME OF REJOICING IS NEAR ......
THE RISEN KING, OUR GROOM, IS SOON APPEAR ......
THE WEDDING FEAST TO COME IS NOW NEAR AT LAST ......
LIFT UP YOUR VOICE, PROCLAIM THE COMING LAMB ......

Bridal Shower

A lot of nice gifts.

Including a toaster.

Jessie will be married in less than a month.

Packages Mailed

I hope it's not too tacky to send the Christmas gifts in a toilet paper box. And I hope they get there since I'm kind of late getting them out.

More Cookies

I get infected with this bug every Christmas--I just have to spend way too much time making way too many goodies for people who weigh way too much already! Alas!

I finished the sugar cookies this afternoon, and as soon as they are dry, I will pack up a bunch to go into the Christmas packages that are headed for Michigan, Oregon, and Arizona.

I also have made three other kinds of goodies, and I've started the dark chocolate truffles. I promise, after I finish the truffles, NO MORE! Some years I've done caramel corn but I'll skip that this year.

Oh, and I had to try a a batch of peppermint bark that was selling for $24/lb at Sonoma-Williams just so I could say that I made it every bit as good and it only cost about $2/lb!

Starlight

I don't really know why I keep making Christmas cookies, but each year I make a few standbys and then try a couple new ones too. This year we have butterscotch candies turning into stained glass cookies.

Christmas Eating

After two Christmas parties in less than 24 hours, I'm starting to feel like Mrs. Claus--fat and happy!

These two ornaments were a gift from a young couple who were working with the Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands when we lived there about 100 years ago. Most of the ornaments on our tree are of the homemade variety which makes for bringing back lots of good memories, if not producing a tree that would work for Better Homes and Gardens. The majority of my ornaments are ones crocheted by my grandma. She died a few years ago, and I still miss her.

Thanks

A couple days ago we received this thank you card from friends who had stayed with us. They seem to have picked a card that is right up our alley.

Open it up, and here's the inside:



Inside the card was a nice little check that paid 3/4ths of the bill to get Rachel's car fixed today. I guess we should be thanking them, and we will.

I've Hit a New Low

I went to Taco Bueno twice today.

The lady there asked why we hadn't been there for so long, to which I replied that we were still working on the turkey leftovers.

Almost Advent

Tomorrow begins the season of advent, a time of waiting and anticipation of celebrating the birth of our Saviour. I didn't grow up in a liturgical church, but the traditions I've learned surrounding Advent have become important to me, a way to keep one's perspective during a time of year that can be hectic for many people. The first candle will be lit tomorrow, the candle of hope or prophesy.



The previous two years I was able to send someone else out to buy the Christmas tree, but this year I had to do it myself. We've got it in the stand, but the decoration will have to wait another day or two. Our church Bible study group is having a Christmas dinner at our house on Thursday, so I need to have it decorated by then.

An Old Day

I'm feeling old today.

Maybe it is the hip joint pain. Or maybe it is the lack of energy.


In some ways, I should be feeling young. Today at work we celebrated the work of someone who is retiring at age 75 and who has worked here for 51 years. She plans to spend more time with her kids. And her grandkids. And her greatgrandkids.

If I live to be 75, it is not likely I will have greatgrandkids.

If I live to be 55, it is not likely I will have grandkids.

But I do have kids, even at my age.

Good Kids

We had a mostly pleasant, busy Thanksgiving week that was topped off with a 14 hour visit by Andrew, half of which he (and we) spent sleeping. Andrew was passing through Dallas on his way to Ethiopia for a few days. David was already here visiting for Thanksgiving, so we had a rare occasion for a photo with all three kids.

The time was spent teasing me about my suburb fashion sense, taking care of some financial details, preparing another suitcase of books for the Impact Library (e are now down to just two boxes left in my storeroom) and eating. Oh, and there was also some time for calling people oafs.

. Every Christmas my standard answer to "What do you want for Christmas?" is "Good Kids." I'm fortunate to get what I want.

Thankful for Computers

Now that we've got Gary's new laptop organized and the wireless router working, he's having fun computing all over the house. I also introduced him to wireless radio, so he can have baroque music anytime he wants.

David seems to have found a novel way to use his computer too.

Testing, Testing (web photo album)

I keep thinking I need to redo my website. I kind of gave up on it a while back because I ran out of disk space on my Comcast site. And the way I did the photos was a bunch of work. So I'm now experimenting with a new way of doing photos using the Web Photo album feature of Picasa. If it works in a blog, maybe it would work in a website too.

I suppose if you are reading this and only have dialup, it could be not worth it.

Bugs and creatures

flowers, wild

David

Tick

Within thirty minutes of coming to our house, Sarah was dissecting a tick. What is her mother going to think??
(Be sure to click on the photo to get a closer look.)

Conversation Piece

There has been a lawnmower sitting in our living room for over two weeks. Most visitors are too kind to ask the obvious, so it just sits there in its corner until we feel obliged to explain how this is our third lawnmower and there really is only room for two in the shed.

But today the nice man from church came took one of the two half-broken ones away. We hope he can fix it and then give it to someone who might need it. Now there's room for the newcomer in the shed. But if we move it, what will we have to talk about?

I'm So Young and Beautiful

...that I got carded at Home Depot today for trying to buy this. The computer would not let me buy it until I told it my DOB. *eye roll*

Fruitcake

You know the holidays are just around the corner when the fruitcake arrives from Collin Street Bakery. This is an annual gift from my mom to Gary--I don't touch the stuff myself (except to steal a pecan off the top).

Find The Way

Where is Grace and Purity?

Just down the way from Hope and Purity.