welcome 2013 - thanks a bunch 2012

It is now New years eve.  A whole year has passed and how can we account for the happenings?  We did a lot of work at the Archives and as we left Augusta we were five miles down the highway and turned to each other and said, "So what just happened?"  contributing to this was the fact that we packed up our car and left Prescott for Maine and at the end of our mission we packed up our car and left - the happenings in between both journeys seem like a dream and the only proof that we did anything is recorded in the blog.  I guess that is all that is left when we pass through life - a written record.

We attended a couple of sacred concerts in the area and David came up for the holiday.  We took him to the American Lutheran Church for their vespers service.  They have a very large choir and a bell choir as well.   David was not impressed but we enjoyed it.  We were really sad at Thanksgiving because he opted to not come home for the holiday.  He seems to be happier now that he is out of the group home and in a private home - albeit they are being paid handsomely to take care of him.
The most fun thing that happened was being in touch with Sara and family by way of Facetime - a part of the Apple offerings on Ipad, Ipodtouch and Iphone.  Oliver in particular was really enthralled with the Ipodtouch application that he could call Grandma and talk to her.  Of course he was waving the phone all over the place and we could easily have become seasick trying to keep track of the pictures he was transmitting.  Sara and Jacob are busy trying to get the house ready for sale.  With a new baby coming around July 13, 2013  they definitely need a new place to live with enough bedrooms in it.  Of course most homes these days only have 2, maybe 3 bedrooms but seem to readily have a large dining room, large family room, Great Room (usually a lounging area off the kitchen)  Worse yet, even though they are large, the rooms seem to be chopped up and not enough closet space.  I have no idea who designs these homes but they need a good lesson in prioritizing space allocations.

We did not make a lot of phone calls.  We did call France and talk to Bill's step mother - she is in her mid nineties now and repeats herself a lot.  She is going deaf as well.

We did have snow, well sort of had snow, on Christmas Eve but it melted right away.  As I type it is snowing - the really tiny flakes that have lots of air between them and they make little or no impact on our landscape.  It is COLD and CLOUDY but no snow to speak of. 
 Some idiot in Sedona, a fancy town on the other side of the Mingus Mountain Range, managed to entice 111 like minded souls to climb Bell Rock and wait with him there.  He is convinced that the universe is in trouble and that by waiting on top of Bell Rock, a conduit would open up and transport him to the center of the universe where he, singlehandedly, could straighten it out, and life could go on from there.  The only thing that really happened was that the search and rescue squads were on hand to assist any or all of the 111 souls back down the treacherous rock face after their vigil (in the dark - no moon to spoon with)  No one seemed to mind that the perpetrator of the vigil may still be up there waiting for the conduit to open up - just in case the Mayan's got the date wrong mind you.  We have to allow for cosmic shift, Vortex aberrations, clouds, possible snow, marauding bands of Indians, excited cavalry, armed guards, rain dancers, skin crawlers (what go across your body to make you shiver), an odd snake or two and perhaps some scorpions who may have lost track of what season it is and the list is endless.  You know the world did not end because I am writing you an email and my computer still works and we still have electricity and indoor plumbing...............aaaaaaahhhhhh!  civilization at its zenith.


For Christmas dinner this year I managed to find a pound cake by Entenmans.  I cut it in half, spread jam on it and put the two halves back together.  I sliced off the mounded top to make it a little flatter, then I coated the whole thing in chocolate frosting and then rolled it in dry coconut and turned it into a Lamington cake like we had back in Australia. My family would not eat it - not even my guests - I guess there are some people in this world who just do not know what is good for them.

My eye surgery has been put back till February, 12.  It really is difficult for me to read these days so I look forward to getting some use back into the eye.

Now that David has gone, I guess I can get back to working on Lyla's quilt and begin the Boys quilts.  With number 4 coming I guess I will have to make a quilt for that one as well.  Yes, I know he/she/twins? are not even born yet, but it does not hurt to think ahead.  Even if none of them marries, they will have a nice quilt from Grandma to keep them warm.

So 2013 is upon us and my calendar is empty of events.  At the end of the year the notations tell of what we did - and life goes on.

The rest of the story about our trip to LIncoln.

Thursday Bill, David and I spent the day shopping for the Christmas wishes of the children.  We had a great time and the credit card company keeps track.
Friday morning we wrapped the gifts and put them under the tree.  the children were ecstatic.  Of course the Elf on the Shelf did his mischief and moved the box that held Oliver's attention and Oliver and his siblings searched for that mischievous elf.  He had moved the gift to the top of the Refrigerator and was lounging on top of it.
Sara and I visited St. Louise to see what we could find.  found three lovely pillows for her living room and a couple of sweaters that she liked. I just love this thrift store because it is really eclectic in its offering.   I usually buy my stainless steel bowls for the kitchen there but this time they had none.
Jacob's mother and Ray and Chasity came about noon and they brought Tristan with them  He was hoping to play with Ethan and Oliver and Lyla but they were all at school. Mike (Chasity's husband) came after he parked the truck - he had brought a load of grain for the elevator down the road.  We all left for the college and the graduation ceremony.
It was a very nice ceremony and the talks were short and to the point.
Bill had presented me with a new camera 5 minutes before we left the house and so I did not have time to explore how it works and I had trouble getting pictures of the event. But it worked out, after the ceremony, we got pictures of Jacob and his Professor.
Mike and Chasity and Tristan all left at that point but Jacob's mother and Ray stayed the night.
Saturday morning we all went to a little hole in the wall restaurant nearby for breakfast.
In the afternoon Sara, Jacob, the Children, Bill, David and I went to see the Hobbit movie.  We did not like it too much because it was very violent and intense.  Lyla fell asleep as soon as it started and Ethan and Oliver stayed glued to the screen.  It was three hours long.  I think that this movie was nothing like the book I read so many years ago.  Perhaps I should re-read it.
We went across the street to a restaurant that resembles Chipotle and we ate dinner there.
On the way home we drove around Lincoln and saw the Christmas Lights that people have put on their front lawns and trees etc.
Sunday we made it to church on time - and that was a real miracle.
Sunday evening we had a short family home evening built around Luke chapter 2 and then we opened the presents under the tree.
When Oliver opened the box the Elf on the Shelf had stolen, he found that it was another rocket and he was "over the top" happy.  I think that if he had a tail it would have wagged itself right off his body - that is how much happiness that little boy has.  We gave Ethan a solar powered robot kit and it had lots and lots of pieces.  It took him 90 minutes to assemble it - if that was me, I would still be working on it.  We gave Lyla Minnie Mouse Tennis shoes and red glitter shoes and she was in heaven.  We gave Jacob shirts and ties and sox and Sara got a new sweater.
On Monday morning Bill would not get up to get ready and so we sweated it out going to the airport in Omaha.  We literally ran to the checkin counter and they said that the doors were about to close and that the boarding was almost complete.  We hurried up to the check point and then they held us up while 4 TSA workers inspected David's gameboy - they thought it was some sort of explosive device.  Have they not seen a gameboy before?  Did it really need 4 TSA workers to make the decision that it was really safe to allow it onboard?  These people are not the brightest bulbs in the box.  We raced to the plane and they closed the door behind us.  Was that to keep us in or to not let anyone else in?  The authorities de-iced the plane and then we were off into the wild blue yonder for Texas where we gobbled lunch between flights.  We arrived in Phoenix on time and David disappeared through portal 5 to be taken home to Gilbert.  We caught the shuttle to the parking lot and drove home.  There was a pile of mail waiting for us.
One notable thing was that Pam sent us a letter to Sara's address.  She thinks we have moved to Lincoln.  We may just have to do that now that a new baby is coming.  We went with Jacob on Sunday afternoon looking at homes that were holding open houses.  We were blown away by the cost of the homes and the taxes were sky high.  But, it is necessary for the family to find larger lodgings now that a new baby is coming.  Sara wanted it to be kept quiet for a while but Oliver is so excited with the prospect of a new member of the family that he told everyone at church.  Now the cat is out of the bag and Jacob and Sara have to look for a new dwelling within the ward boundaries.

An announcement

We left Prescott at 7.15am for  Phoenix airport and David texted us at least 6 times to make sure we were actually on our way to the airport.
We had a safe journey to Nebraska and our rented car is a Nissan - of course because we are a Nissan family.
When we arrived at Sara's house the kids exploded out of the house screaming and yelling and really really happy to see us.  It goes without saying that the first order of business is for me to open my little red carry on bag - it always contains goodies for the children and they look forward to it.  One standard item is the glow sticks - they got put together quickly and when I checked on the children in bed there were the glow sticks, keeping watch over them. Jacob told me that we see the grandchildren more than his mother does.....and she only lives 2 hours away.
One of the traditions we have started is to take a walk, with one child at a time, to the gas station up at the corner.  The ritual is that the child can choose three items from the shelf and grandma pays for them.  They love it and cannot wait for the ritual to be taking place.  It gives me a chance to have one on one time with each child.  As we were entering the parking lot, there was a tree filled with quarreling sparrows.  I told Ethan to shake the tree to get the birds to fly and he did.  The disturbed birds flew in all directions but soon returned.  They did not know why Ethan had shaken their tree - I just wanted them to know that they were not the only beings on the earth and that the quarrel was non productive.  Each one seemed to claim supremacy.  I had Oliver do the same activity and he was delighted to see the birds scatter and return.
When I was walking with Oliver and asking him questions etc. he had one for me that bowled me over.  He said, "Grandma, is it nearly Christmas on your Planet?"  So when I told Sara and Jacob, they asked me "well, which planet do you come from?"
Just before breakfast, Jacob and Sara made an announcement that we were totally unprepared for.  They are going to have a baby in July.  We hope all goes well and we are tickled pink that we are to be grandparents again.  Each child is a blessing.

getting ready to leave for Lincoln

It is now down to the wire - we leave in the morning to go to Lincoln to see Jacob get his Hood at the PhD graduation.  It is a big deal and we have been waiting for a long time for this to come to pass.  I hope that my grandchildrenn never forget this momentous day in their father's life.
Today I attended my Applique group's Christmas party.  Actually it was a pot luck lunch with surprise gift exchange.  Some years ago we had this gift exchange and there was one gift that Rose received and she got attached to it immediately and would not play the game with the rest of us. We are still talking about it and agreed that we will not be attached to our gifts and that we will keep the game going.....no one is allowed to 'channel Rose".  I took some spools of thread in its own carrier along with a box of divine chocolates from Cost Co.  These chocolates are the most devastatingly wonderful things and you just cannot eat one - or two for that matter.  It is great temptation to just sit there and eat the lot - but they are really really rich.  The lady who ended up with them (she stole it from another member, as part of the game) has just lost 3 pounds on her diet and told us she has another 13 pounds to go.  Well, if she eats these chocolates, the three pounds will come back plus the 13 she has to lose more............that is why I took them along to the group - I do not need to put on weight but I do love these chocolates..........what a sacrifice to give them up to the ladies for the game of swapping gifts.
We ate lunch together and had good conversation. 
Because we are going to be gone for 6 days, I emptied my refrigerator of the fresh veggies and took them to my neighbor.  By the time we get back they would be old anyway and she might as well use them up rather than let them grow old in my fridge while I am gone.

Catching up

The past 9 days have been filled to the brim with activities and at night I am really exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed and sleep it off..............and sleep I do. 

On Sunday 2nd December we attended tithing settlement.  The Lord has asked us to tithe our income and that leaves us with the challenge to see what we can do with 90% of our income.  At tithing settlement we sit with our Bishop and report whether we paid a full tithe or not.  For some people the answer is no but for us it is yes.  It takes a lot of faith to pay 10% of your income but I have found over the years that I have been greatly blessed for obedience to this requirement. 

On Monday 3rd of December my friend Kitty came to do some scrapbooking activities.  She likes to make the paper boxes that I taught the beading group some time ago.  She also likes to make cards to give for Birthdays etc. So we made paper stuff in the afternoon.  Kitty's husband has contracted memory loss that has turned into Alzheimer's and it is a real strain on her to be the caretaker so her time at my house playing with paper stuff is a band aid of sorts for her.  On Tuesday for two hours my friend Bobbie comes and we play paper stuff again.

While we were in Maine, I put on 20 pounds weight and the doctor yelled at me for doing that.  He should talk; he is overweight himself.  So I have been attending Zumba classes 4 times per week and water aerobics 3 times per week and I have now lost 10 pounds - second 10 in the process of being lost.  I went to see him this week but he only barely noticed that I was minus 10 pounds.  He is a great believer in preventive medicine - e.g. he likes to prescribe medicines that will prevent cholesterol , blood pressure and the like but he ignores the fact that my numbers are within normal range.  (I do not take him up on his offer to take these meds) I have a friend who weighs about 400 pounds who lives on blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds and a raft of other meds that preclude her having to watch her diet.  It is nothing for her to always order a dish that has Alfredo sauce on it with an extra helping of Alfredo sauce on the side.  She has had a heart attack, her kidneys are failing, she is on oxygen and any kind of movement is extra effort.  It is sad to see what shape she is in - perhaps I should take her to see my doctor...............

At beading on Wednesday we celebrated the birthday of one of the ladies there.  She brought a Cheesecake............Yum Yum.  I ate a very small sliver of cake and really enjoyed it.  For the rest of the week I have been watching my food intake very closely so a small sliver will not ruin anything.  On Thursday I was taken to lunch to celebrate my birthday - almost a week late but it was the only time we all could be together - my friends live busy lives.  We went to Applebees and they have selections on the menu that are Weight Watcher Friendly meals and so I ate the Fiesta Lime Shrimp meal on the menu.

Friday night was Acker night.  A Mr. Acker left a large amount of money to the city of Prescott for use in maintaining a park and putting on a night to celebrate music.  Businesses downtown  open their doors to performing groups and for 2 1/2 hours the town is brimming with people walking up and down visiting the different stores and listening to the performances.  There are over 100 venues and in the short amount of time one cannot visit all of the performers.  They also had people performing Karate, Judo, Tai Chi, Clogging, Jazz Dance, Tap Dance, and free lance groups getting together singing carols or strolling the street caroling.  It was very festive all round.  We went early so that we could get a parking spot.  Bill was aghast that we should be down town 90 minutes early.  He has not attended one of these events at all since we lived here but I have been to them a few times.  We found a parking spot, then we went to Pasquale's for dinner.  It is a corner bistro that serves Italian and Greek foods -wonderful.  We took Andrea with us.  Her husband was performing in a small venue with his Jazz group.  We saw the group that plays the Caribbean style drums and when we were there they were playing a tribute to Dave Brubek - Take Five - one of my favorite pieces.  Brubek just passed away.  I saw him perform at the U. of Utah when I lived there.  We visited a store that had a flute group playing Dona Novis Parchem (I think that is how it is spelled) and the next place we went to they had a banjo and jug band performing.  There were rock bands and solo performers and singers and it was wonderful.  The Song of the Pines group was singing in the Hassayampa Inn vestibule.  These are a group of ladies who sing a capella and  it was really inspiring to hear them sing.  I was surprised to see one of the ladies from my Quilt Group in the ranks singing for us.  Our last stop  was to see Andrea's husband and his group.  On the way home Bill was grateful that he made the effort to go early, eat dinner and then walk around town to see the performances.  He had initially thought that it was going to be a waste of time, but we have some serious talent here in Prescott and the various performers provided a wonderful night for all of us.  Add to that the lights were all on at the courthouse and that really set the festive mood.  A friend of ours said that for years they had lights on the trees at the court house and then someone suggested that the lights be upgraded and tested to see if they come up to code and that was the downfall.  for a couple of years there were very few lights on the trees until the code was satisfied and this year they have loads more lights on the trees and the court house and it was wonderful to see.  Of course I am waiting for the ACLU to come along and sue the city for having two angels in lights on the building.  With the way things are going these days it should not take long for them to start waging war over this.

The Stake of the church that is situated in Prescott Valley had an item in the paper announcing that they had a display of Creche coupled with a concert of Christmas music.  Bill said we should go to it.  So on Saturday night we got ready and off we went to the church to attend.  They were having a Christmas Dinner at the time and then he read the banner on the front table and found that the concert was Sunday night.  We were a day early.................So we went back last night and it was very worthwhile.  The choir sang a variety of Christmas Songs and it was very comforting to hear.  They closed with the Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah.

so we now face a week of travel - going to Nebraska to attend the PhD ceremony for Jacob and to celebrate the Christmas season with the grandchildren.

Holiday Frenzy

The merchants are worried that the economy is so low that there will be no purchasing of gifts etc. by the populace.  Well, the 'conditioning' of the populace has been in place for a long time.  this 'conditioning' takes the form of sales gimmicks that range from  TV commercials and loads of advertising and flyers in the paper that make the newspaper even triple the size of the Sunday paper.  Door buster low prices to get people into the stores to purchase things that they really do not need or want but feel compelled to buy because it is Christmas.
The chamber of commerce here had a gift card giveaway slated to begin at 9am when the chamber opened its doors on the Saturday just after Thanksgiving.  It was a card worth $25 and to be used for the Small Business Saturday.  a day in which the populace was encouraged to attend the small businesses and purchase from them.  Well, many people had blown their wad on the big stores on Thanksgiving day or even the day after which has been dubbed Black Friday - the day in which the businesses are expected to make huge sales that will put their profits into the black for the year when they think they are running at a loss (in the red) for the rest of the year.  I wondered how popular this Small Business Saturday would be and how this $25 gift card from the Chamber would work.  An item in the newspaper on the giveaway stated that people had begun lining up at 4am in order to take advantage and by the opening of the doors at 9am hundreds of people had gathered.  There were only 200 of these $25 cards available from the American Express company and this was the first year the Chamber of Commerce had participated in this program.  Each member business was given a special doormat for the front of their business so that people would know that this is where they could spend the $25.  So it seems that there were strings attached to the gift card but I do not know for sure.  The Chamber did not forsee that hundreds of people would line up even at 4am.  Their office is only small and imagine the pushing and shoving of hundreds trying to get into such a small space - how do you get in much less, how do you go against the tide so that you can get out?
There are a number of notices of church basement craft shows and bake sales, but I am not going to attend them.  I am tired of the Glue Gun Queens offerings.
the Yavapai Indian Nation hosts a gingerbread house display at the Resort/Casino.  We go to it every year and this year it was much smaller.  we will tak-e David to see it when he comes for Christmas.  We attended the light parade and that was very good.  so far the cream of the crop of pre-Christmas activities has been the Walk Through Bethlehem activity that is held by the American Lutheran Church here in Prescott.  We went last night and it was very moving.  Upon entering the church multipurpose room, we were given a "ticket" to walk through Bethlehem.  when our number was called, we gathered with other 'travelers' and greeted by a guide who walked us through the alleys of Bethlehem to follow the Star.  We were accosted by beggars who asked for our coins that we received from the census taker (we gave our first names to the census taker).  The Roman soldiers were rough with the beggars telling them to get moving and stop bothering people.  We passed the jail where some beggars had been incarcerated and then into the next room where we saw that the Three Kings and their camel were waiting to greet us as we traveled.  we progressed along our path (through specially decorated rooms to give the appearance of old town Bethlehem) and we saw shepherds (this year they did not have a real sheep with them but rather a hand puppet which had to suffice), a fishmonger, basket makers, potters, women at the well, weavers and spinners and an almost convincing Rabbi and his disciple and our guide asked each group the meaning of the Star that was shining in the sky and if they had heard of a baby being born who was proposed to be the Messiah.  The Rabbi said that it would probably be just another baby because "God only knows when the Messiah will be sent to gather Israel".  We were turned away at the Inn but the innkeeper and his wife gladly took our 'money' that we got at the census taker - it was a bribe to see if we could get a room at the inn - but he took the money (under false pretenses if you ask me) and our guide took us down a long hall to a room filled with angels.  In years past these angels have sung "O come all ye Faithful", or "Silent Night". and one night they had a harpist playing "In Dulce Jubilo", but this year they recited a verse from the new testament.  It was very moving to pass from the dark passage after the dishonest Inn Keeper, into this room filled with light and angels in white replete with wings and tinsel halo's, and then when they had finished reciting their verse, we were ushered into  a stable with real donkeys and a mother and father and a real baby who was quite animated.  I felt compelled to reach out and touch the 'baby Jesus', because this little baby represents all that is pure and wonderful in this world in which we live.  Other years the baby representing Jesus was asleep in the manger but this little one was happy to see us.  My hope is that Jesus is happy to see us trying to live as he has asked us.  And so, our Christmas celebration has begun in earnest - we know that the Christ has come and that he will come again and we look forward to that, and look forward to celebrating the traditional holiday marking his birth, all over again. in 25 days time.