Climbing Higher

In spite of my reluctance to attend, I did actually enjoy my time at the retreat. Everybody was nice to me even though I didn't know many of the folks. I had many opportunities to answer the "Do you have children?" question, and my brain is still functioning well enough to get that one right.

We had ample unscheduled time, so we got to do a little hiking. I saw two new birds, but was only able to identify the ruby-crowned kinglet. I also saw a large water bird, probably some kind of dark heron.

If you're interested in a few more photos, click on the photo below.

pinecove

Retreating

We're off to Pine Cove Christian Camp near Tyler, TX in a couple hours. Gary will be giving a little talk, and I will be doing a little talking. And walking. And eating and sleeping and reading. No blogging, however, and no emailing, since the center has no connectivity. They claim to have cell phone coverage. We'll see.

Lest you decide to sneak in and clean my house for me while I'm away, let me assure you there is no need; our sweet daughter will be here as the caretaker. We return in a few days.

Oh, and as a follow up to my last post, I should report that the fishing net worked great. The HS boy who used it turned a kid-sized table over to turn it into a fishing boat from whence they could cast their net on the other side.

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.