Celebrating National Pancake Day

Yesterday was . . . National Pancake Day? Ah, well. Never heard of it, but it sparked a grand idea! We called Dad and he agreed. We made a big breakfast for dinner, including pancakes. Dad makes pancakes every so often on the weekends, but yesterday, we had it for dinner. Sarah and I came down at 4pm and made breakfast potatoes, biscuits and sausage and got the coffee pot all ready to perc. Dad came home and made the most fabulous pancakes that he has ever made! To top of the night, we took our fabulous meal upstairs and watched the third episode of Green Acres, where Lisa learns how to make (or not how to make) "hotscakes"!

Remembering Uncle J.D.

Usually I would do a Christmas blog entry, but I woke up with a beastly cold yesterday, and am not feeling tip-top today. So, Christmas news and updates will come later. It was a fabulous Christmas! On the 26th, we got six inches of beautiful snow, and it hasn't gone yet! Gorgeous, white and fluffy world outside. I couldn't be much happier. 

I was just looking at some of our FindAGrave memorials, when I went onto Uncle J.D.'s. I noticed that he died 35 years ago today. Since he was brought to mind, I thought I would post the absolutely beautiful poem that he wrote. It really is a beautiful sentiment and doubly cool since he wrote it. Don't have a lot from him, and I treasure the things that we do know and have. I wish I had known him, he must have been a fabulous person.

A SINNER'S PRAYER
Written by James Denver "J.D." Gillespie (1928-1977)

I went out for a walk one day
on a cold Winter's morn.
Then I saw a vision
of Gabriel with his horn.
I fell down on my knees to pray
and to Jesus I did say,
"Please cleanse my soul of sin, O Lord,
for I repent today.

I am just a lonely sinner, Lord,
who is learning how to pray.
So, won't you shine your light on me,
so I can see the way?
I pledge my soul to Jesus,
to do with what He may,
In hopes He'll take me to His Father
on that Judgment Day.

O, Jesus, can't you hear my plea?
I put my trust and faith in you
who walked upon the sea.
Oh, yes, I love you, Jesus,
I look for you today,
Who gave His life upon the cross
so my soul can be saved.

Yes, I want to go to heaven
to sit by His right hand;
I want to climb those golden stairs
into that promised land,
If I could meet my Savior,
who wore the crown of thorn,
Then I could die in Peace, O Lord,
let Gabriel blow his horn."

Catching up on Falltime

Man! Am I behind on posting! Oh, well . . . life has been rather busy, so my blog is always one of the first things to fall behind. This time it was because of books, clearing out the house, and colds. Let's see . . . where to start. After doing all these books sales this year, Mom and I looked at the stacks of books boxes waiting to be shelved and realized that there was no possible way to cram them onto the already bursting shelves. We also had a discussion about the structure of the house. So, we started going through all the books and doing a massive weed job. Scanning them and deciding if we wanted them, if we were interested in having a book on the particular topic, if we got a better replacement, etc. We are hoping at the end to get back to the approx. 10,000 volumes we had several years ago. We've done a good chunk of it already. Dad has been taking loads down to the Knox County Friends of the Library Book Sale.

We have also been going through the house and all the stuff we have accumulated over the years. The house has gotten way out of hand and we all decided it was time to get rid of a lot of stuff. We have four grown people, living in one house for many years, collecting a lot of stuff. Too much stuff. So, we decided that we are going to pretend that we are moving. If we really moved, would you really want to pack and move each thing you pick up? One day a couple weeks ago, while Mom and I did a lot of books, Sarah did the walk-in closet. Man! Is it nice! Even went through the games and puzzles!

I am afraid the the end of September and all of October haven't been very fun for me. Six weekends ago, I caught a cold, right at the beginning of canning tomatoes. Well, I was hoping it was just a quick cold, but it turned out to be an awful thing. The typical flu-shot-time-of-the-year cold, but terrible. Mom ended up getting it right after I did, so we spent a lot of down time. We were actually going down to Cincinnati to visit Walt and Janice, but we had to cancel the plans and postpone the weekend. Well, I had trouble shaking of the remains for a couple weeks. Then, to top it off - I got another cold two weeks ago! I was really depressed. I mean, this isn't a banner October for me. Actually, it will be fabulous when it ends.  So,  suffered through some more symptoms, and sadly Sarah came down with it last Monday. Well, our plans for Cinci had been changed to this past weekend. We played it loose, hoping we would feel better by then. Then Mom sprained her back lifting books. Man! We were beginning to wonder whether it was a message about going down to Cinci. Problem was, should we go, or should we not? Well, our colds are down to terrible sounding coughs, but that is about all.

We ended up going down on Saturday. Walt and Janice had some friends over on Saturday night and we played cards. It was really fun! It was really fun to play games with so many people. Even if I was so nervous I probably looked like a scared rabbit! Ah, well . . . Terrible being shy. But, it was fabulous. Wish I had felt better, too. Sunday we all hung around and played some more games. We left after dinner and stopped at Whole Foods on the way home. Got some olive oil and coffee. It was a terrible drive, rained all the way home. However, I didn't see much of it. I slept the whole way. First time I've been able to sleep since coming down with this cold. I think I am suffering from sleep exhaustion!

Yesterday, we made some coffee in the morning and took it nice and slow. Then we went down and visited Buddy and Kay for the evening. They were home for half a day, and it might be the only time we get to see them for the rest of the year, except Thanksgiving and Christmas! They have a super busy schedule.

We have gotten some fun fan mail back these past two months. I think the first was Ann Blyth. Something happened to it, and it got wet along the way. Not just damp, but soaked! I think it was on the way to her, because my letter had been stuck to one of the photos. However, she signed them very nicely and I was able to get the paper pulp off and the photos look great! Amazing printer! They are fabulous photos and she did a beautiful job signing! As she is one of my all-time favorites, I was really excited! Here is my very favorite song she ever sang (that I've heard so far, that is!)

Next, we got back Linda Evans, who was Audra in "The Big Valley" TV show. We already had Peter Breck and Lee Majors, so she was our last "Big Valley" cast member. I really thought she did a great thing with signing, because she wrote "Love Audra" instead of her normal signature! 

Just last week we got back a really fun one. From British actress Joanna David, who played Mrs. Gardiner in the 1995 mini-series of Pride and Prejudice. She not only sent our photos back signed, but a nice note as well apologizing for the delay in replying and that she included newer photos of herself, and ones of her daughter, since we mentioned we liked her, and she sent us autographed photos of her son - who is also an actor. So cute! Well, that was a surprise and a really cool success. I love her daughter (who we wrote too, as well, but haven't heard back from yet), so I was excited to get an autograph of her, as well.

Book sales are over for the year (Um . . . maybe. Mom just found another that might be good!). Three weeks ago was the largest Ohio library book sale up in Elyria. Dad even went us with us. They had approx. 70,000, and I found the book that I had been searching for all year! A nice, old library-bound copy of Pitcairn's Island, which is the last of the Bounty Trilogy by Nordoff & Hall. I was so thrilled! I have been looking at every sale! We had nice library-bound hardbacks of the other two in the set, but only an old, cheap paperback of the last one. 

Throughout the book sales, I have really worked at collecting nicer (and more) Christie books. Slowly but surely, I now have 61 titles and four trivia books. Some really nice hardbacks of titles I like. Even got the movie tie-in cover hardback of Murder on the Orient Express. A nice hardcover of Ordeal By Innocence. Even found copies of Cards on the Table and N or M?. We got a new shelf for them (while we have been rearranging) and I thought it would give me plenty of growing room, but it is almost filled! Really fun, though.

 

Oh, before I close, I discovered a new favorite singer and favorite song. A friend down in Australia, who also likes opera, asked me about my thoughts of Anna Netrebko. Well, I had only ever listened to a few tracks of hers, so I didn't really have any thoughts. So, I ordered in four cds from the library and started listening. I liked her last half of La Boheme (Always my starting point). She was very good. However, when I heard track 13 of her album, Souvenirs, I was sold! A traditional Jewish lullaby, it is one of the most gorgeous things I have ever heard. Dad even loves it! My new favorite. Then I listened to her highlights from La Traviata album, which was so fantastic! I love highlights and this is one of the best. You never realized when they skipped sections. Very well done and beautiful!

Well, that pretty much catches up to the present. This morning we woke up to a bit of snow on the ground! It is really, really windy and cold. So, I think Winter is close! More house cleaning/sorting and book weeding is on the agenda for the next few weeks. 

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven . . ." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Mountains of Books

Ah, life is just a mountain of books. Books upstairs, books downstairs, books on the shelves, books on the floors, books in the truck! Last Saturday, Mom and I went and spent the day with Mr. and Mrs. Keultjes, helping them go through there books. They need the space in the basement and only wanted to keep some of the books. So, Mom and I sorted and moved and sorted some more! In the end, we had pulled so many to try and sell for her, that we had Sarah and Dad meet us up there with the truck. Fourteen banana boxes full! So, I spent three days last week cleaning books outside. Finally finished on Saturday. Whew!

On Thursday, Buddy and Kay came over in the afternoon and we had a wonderful time visiting. watched a movie and solved the problems of the world.

This week we have discovered two fantastic, new films! First was The King's Thief (1955) with Ann Blyth and Edmund Purdom. What a fantastic film! So exciting! Can't watch it right before bed. :o) It is like a nice type of Three Muskateers. Sarah and I have found a new favorite. Alright, it won't win any Oscars, but it is pure entertainment and adventurous! Second was Top O' the Morning (1949) with Ann Blyth, Bing Crosby, and Barry Fitzgerald. Sarah and I have been wanting to see it for years. A friend in California ended up downloading it from netflix for us and we were finally able to see it! A fantastic film! So cute and funny and entertaining! Definitely this is a film that needs to be released on DVD!

Well, we have another booksale on Friday and Dad leaves for Florida on Saturday. So, we are trying to get ready. Sarah's computer went on the blink yesterday, so it goes into the compie shop. Sad.

The weather is cooling off a bit and getting much nicer. Sarah and I are getting ready for winter and hobbies. We got some fanmail replies last week. From Mary Costa, David Suchet, and Jane Powell. So fun! So we are wanting to do some more. :o) I'll write another post soon about some of the cool books we have found in the past month!

Birthday , Heat, and the Wonders of Electricity

Our birthday dawned . . . hot. As always, the predicted temp was one of the hottest of the month. This time it was a melting 98F, which turned out to be entirely correct. So, we decided to stick around and keep cool. So, we watched some of our birthday movies, had ice cream, ordered pizza in for dinner and got our presents in the AC. What a surprise! Mom and Dad gave me a throwing tomahawk! I am so happy! I am working on making a sheath for it now. It is going to be green and black and I beaded a medallion for decoration that has a shamrock in the middle! Ah, well . . . who cares if the Indians didn't decorate in the Irish motif. ;o) Speaking of Irish - We watched another birthday movie after dinner. Luck Of The Irish with Tyrone Power and Anne Baxter. It is my new favorite. Gramma gave us Amazon giftcards and I really wanted to buy Luck of the Irish, but it only comes in a ten-movie set. So, I finally decided to get myself a frivolous present and that is what I ordered. Man! Am I happy I did! How much fun to just pick stuff I wanted, regardless. :o)



We had plans to go down to Columbus and see Laura on the big screen on Friday night. Sadly, a super storm appeared two hours before the movie. Half an hour after it came, we lost power. At 5:18pm (like the good detective-in-training that I am, I figured this out by deductive reasoning. That is, with a little help from my little electric clock that stopped. heehee ) We sat around in the back room upstairs and did a few crossword puzzles and I managed to work on my beaded medallion a bit more before it got too dark altogether. We went to bed at 9pm, still in the dark and hot. No power or telephone when we woke up in the morning. At least we had pulled several gallons of drinking water and a few containers for flushing the night before. However, no water is really rotten. We all got dressed and went up to Mansfield and ate breakfast. Took a nice, leisurely time about it. Even got to have coffee! Then we went grocery shopping. Since everything in our fridge and freezer was probably fighting for it's life, we got stuff to make for lunch, dinner and breakfast that didn't need chilling or could last in the cooler.

Came home, still no power. So we rushed into the fridge and pulled out a bunch of our meat substitutes because Mr. House had room in their chest freezer. We spent a bit of time outside picking up some of the debris in the yard. Branches and twigs everywhere! But, I got overheated and came back in. No way to cool down since there wasn't even cold water. Dad drove down to the lake and filled twenty more containers for flushing water. We all mainly hung around all afternoon and evening, trying not to get hot or drink a lot. Went to bed a soon as it got dark. Too hot to really sleep, so Sarah and I talked a lot. Around 3am, the phone rings! It was the power company telling us that they thought our power was back on. It wasn't. Back to bed, but this time we inspected the countryside from our windows. Two neighbors had power. Promising. An electric company truck drove by, shining a spotlight at the tops of all the poles. Then around quarter to five, the little light I have hanging next to my bed flashes on to half power. Just glowing yellow. Our mini ceiling fan is also turning slowly. This show real promise! So, I got up and turned off all the lights upstairs that had been turned on accidentally. At 5:10am, it came back on! The AC units beeped, the fan started up full swing and lights came on. We all made a bee-line for the bathroom and I filled a gallon jar with cold water. Then we all went to sleep for two hours with the AC on. Sarah and I woke up about an hour before Mom and Dad, so we took showers, did all the dishes, refilled the jars of water (just in case) and even did a load of laundry. Then we all got dressed and drove down to Columbus to get some groceries. (Funny, isn't it? We stayed at home when the power was off and went out when it was on. ? ) They were saying more storms by 4pm, so we came home after lunch. Weren't home long when Mr. and Mrs. Keultjes showed up! What a surprise! They had tried calling, and figured we didn't have power (or phone. It was still down), so they came down with a birthday desert for a visit! She also brought some of the most beautiful flowers in a little blue and white creamer. OH, were they lovely. I managed to keep them until the following Saturday, before they really looked poorly. I washed up the creamer and am going to bead the flowers so we can put them in our bedroom. It was a really nice visit. Always wonderful when we get to see them.



Or phone didn't get fixed until yesterday (13 days later), but we have only had a few power blips during the following week. God really blessed us with the power only being out for 36 hours. Some people had it much longer. Now we aren't quite taking for granted the privilege of flipping a switch and light comes on, or turning a faucet and getting water.

"There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain. - Isaiah 4:6

A Wonderful Sunday

It was a wonderful Sunday. One of those days that is simply great from morning to night. We had a wonderful Church service with a really nice message and a lunch following with Communion at the end. Got to spend some nice visiting time with Sarah and the Clarks. Came home around 1:00pm and Mom and Sarah worked on genealogy while Dad and I went upstairs.

Dad set his ironing board up in the back room and ironed all his work clothes for this week while we watched a WWII film. The Heroes of Telemark, about the commando raid on the Norsk Hydro heavy water plant in Rjukan, Norway. It was filmed on location, so being able to actually see the actual places is thrilling. The real story is truly amazing and so interesting to read about. The movie did combine characters and change some parts, however, it is close enough that (if you know the story) it doesn't spoil it too much. The finale which shows the sinking of the Norsk Hydro ferry is so great. Very realistic. Dad and I had a great time watching it and discussing different aspects of the story and the war. We were having so much fun that we followed it with part of Is Paris Burning?, which is one of the all-star epic WWII films of the 1960s. Also, a very well-done film (closer to actual history than the Telemark film) and features tons of real film footage from the real insurrection of Paris. We'll have to finish this film next weekend. It was just a really fun and relaxing day.

"Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob." - Psalm 81:1

The 3 S's Sequal - Shamrocks, Swetlands, and . . . Sunburn?!

Our St. Patrick's Day was easy and fun. We had our normal coffee in the morning and cleaned the kitchen and everything. In the afternoon, Mom and Dad went to Mansfield on a secret errand while Sarah and I decorated the backroom upstairs. I put on an opera DVD and finished making my leprechaun cutout and we hung up our Happy St. Patrick's Day sign and some shamrock garland. Can it get better than Irish decor and Joan Sutherland? :o) We finished playing Syberia I (which was absolutely wonderful! Can't wait to start Syberia II!)and after Mom and Dad got back, we watched My Wild Irish Rose which has Dennis Morgan singing a lot of Irish songs and features a wonderfully Irish finale.



Sunday, we finally made a family outing and drove up to Cleveland. (Well, Mom would say that it wasn't really Cleveland.) We went to the cemetery in North Olmsted where Uncle JD is buried. I couldn't have been happier. I have really been wanting to go see it and get a photo of his marker. It turns out that Aunt Margaret's brother and his wife are buried four spaces away. So that was fun! We also went to the cemetery where the Stubbs are buried. Took new photos of those stones and even transcribed the Alger monument which is really worn away. We had to leave because there was lots of lightening and it started to rain.

On Thursday, Mom had a slight case of cabin fever, so we decided to drive out to Belle Center (out in Logan County). I never thought that we would ever make it out there, but Mom thought it would be fun. The reason that I wanted to go is that Harold Swetland (the boy that died in Alaska during WWII) has a marker in the cemetery up there. Also, his father, mother, and grandparents are all buried there. Harold's grandfather is Truannie's brother. The cemetery was really pretty, but very sunny. Hardin and Logan Counties are so flat! All farmland and flat. The sun was out and it was very hot. We spent hours walking around and looking for the twenty FindAGrave photo requests. Found all but four and found all the ones I wanted as well. Harold, Harold's parents and grandparents, his step-father, etc. I am so happy. (Here is a photo of me next to Harold's marker. I'll do an entry later with more photos and his story.) Well, we ended up with bad cases of sunburn! Can you believe it! Sunburn in March! I feel awful!

I did get to do some more book dusting this week. I am working on the shelf units behind Sarah's chair and the wool dust is about to kill me! I thought the other books were dusty. Nothing to these! It is awful! I'll do more this week. Mom has her doctor appointment on Monday, so we'll head up to Mansfield for that. Other than that, I don't think we have any pressing plans. I am hoping to get a lot of books done. Sarah and I are also going to get in the closet under the stairs. That is a job, as it requires us to empty and move the cabinet full of sheet music. Anyway, more later!

"Thou has set all the borders of the earth: Thou hast made summer and winter." - Psalm 74:17

The 3 S's - Stan Hywet, Stamp Show, and Syberia

Well, well, well . . . Time flies sometimes and I haven't written a blog entry for ages. This month we have had some fun things happen. On Saturday the 3rd, we went to the McKinley club stamp show up in Canton. We love that show and haven't been there in three years. Usually it snows or is icy that weekend and we can't make it up. Well, owing to our unusual lack of seasonal precipitation this year (in other words, no snow), we made it. For part of the afternoon, Mom and the two of us left Dad there and we went to a special event at Stan Hywet (which is closed until April). They played an hour of old home movies and had three granddaughters of the Seiberlings come and share stories about the house and their family. It was really fun. Sarah and I love it! They are going to sell the disc of movies this year in the gift shop, so Sarah and I already have plans to by it. :o) Can't wait until it opens!

My book dusting is going well, but rather slowly. We have had so many pretty, sunny days that we have been running different places. So I am a bit behind. Need to finish before the weather turns Spring. Hopefully this week I'll get some more done. I have several audiobooks to listen to, so I am all set!

A wonderful thing. We found a Church that we are going to attend. The Clarks called us and told us about a nice church they found in Danville (of all place! Does anything good come from Danville?). So we went ad it was lovely. Everything nice. So, for right now, we are going to go there. I couldn't be happier!

St. Patrick's Day is approaching (actually, I think that it is practically here!) and I worked this week on making a little leprechaun cut-out decoration. I am almost done, just have to make his face and trim for his jacket. He is looking really cute.

Sarah and I got the coolest computer game this week. One that we are actually both playing separately, but at the same time. Syberia I & II. Right now we are only halfway through Syberia I. Man, is it fun! The graphics are so well done and pretty. The voices are great, the play is fun and challenging. So we are really enjoying it. Here is a screenstill of the library in a German university. Of course, I really enjoyed the library!


Mom found out last weekend that she has low blood sugar, so we are trying to adjust our diet and times of eating (more important than that diet, really) and she got a doctors appointment for a week from Monday. Praying that it will just be a temporary stress-induced thing.

The weather today is very, very grey. Hoping that it clears, though. Day before yesterday, it was beautiful. Then we had one of the worst rain/thunder/lightening storms ever that night! Sad to say, but I think Spring is almost here. If it clears, I think we are going to go run some errands.

Mom has been working on FindAGrave still. I switched for a little while from local graves to inputting memorials for French Resistance people. Pretty fun. I think I have done eleven so far. How many French websites can I translate? ;o) Finding out where some of them are buried is a job in itself! I really like doing it, though.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Matt. 18:20

Happy Winter, Rise and Shine . . .

"Snow, snow, snow, snow! . . . ."

In the immortal words of Irving Berlin, "SNOW"! Not a ton, but enough to make the world white and the roads covered. So, we are sticking around. Yesterday was an absolutely wonderful day. We had coffee and a big breakfast and then Dad and I went upstairs. He tied flies and I dusted books. Pulled the sofa out and did all the shelves behind. Tons of books, as they are juvenile non-fiction. I did manage to organize them well enough so that I have about a foot and a half of free space. I did take some off that were miss-shelved. However, I am hoping that I will be able to put them in their proper shelves and not lose much space.

Jennie called in the afternoon, so we talked for about an hour. She was cleaning her apartment and I was sitting behind the sofa! Guess we were both kind of dusty. ;o) It was great to talk to her since we got to meet last Sunday. Turns out that she took French lessons in high school and used to be able to write it. So, I am going to really try going through my French-English Grammar book. She said that we could try writing letters in French if I learn enough and she brushed up. That would be fun!

Well, today is still snowy and the roads are white, so we are sticking around. The wind is really blowing and it is only 58 degrees in the house, even with Dad getting up all night to do fires. So we are going to try and keep warm. Actually, I think Dad will tie some more flies later. We are almost done with our audiobook of Pride and Prejudice. One more disc to go. It is really swell. Emilia Fox is reading and she does different voices for every character. She is brilliant. Dad and I are really enjoying it, so we'll finish it later.

"For to the snow, He says, 'Fall on the earth,' . . ." - Job 37:6

Bloomfield Cemetery and Books

Last week we went (again) to Bloomfield Cemetery, just outside of Sparta in Morrow Co. This is one of the prettiest cemeteries that we have been to yet. It is also where most of the Swetlands are buried. My Swetland genealogy is really coming along. I already have over 1200 people in my family tree. Truanna's daddy, Joseph Carper Swetland is among those buried at Bloomfield. Below are some photos of me standing next to his marker and the large Swetland monument. I keep finding more Swetlands there in the vicinity. Girls who got married and I don't know their married names. I think I have most of them now, although I do still get surprised. Here are some photos that Sarah took of me while we were there. The first is me with a child's stone that I was cleaning off so that we could transcribe it. The second is me with the Swetland monument, and the third is me behind Joseph Carper's stone.



The past couple of days I have been going through transcriptions of Knox Co. newspaper articles on rootsweb. A lady's grandmother saved thousands of clippings from the 1900s to 1940s, and she has been typing them up on rootsweb for the past several years. Absolutely fantastic! I have found so many good ones, it is amazing. Well, I have been putting obits on the findagrave memorials for anyone I recognize the name for. Found one for a "P.B. Chase", buried in Bloomfield. Well, I knew we had seen him, so I figured I would send the obit. Long obit. So I read it. So interesting. Turns out that the man is the guy who built the beautiful estate on SR229, which we pass on the way to the cemetery and we passed for more than a year when we went to Church in Sunbury. I always mean to stop and take a photo, but never have. Well, this Plimpton Chase is the guy who built the beautiful estate on his family's property which was originally his great-grandfather's Revolutionary War service land grant. They are selling it on sotheby's right now for almost a million dollars.



I thought it would be really fun to have them in my family tree. However, I don't have any Chases in the Swetland tree. However, like Bloomfield and Chester townships always are, they are related! It only took us five minutes to totally connect the Chases and the Swetlands! Truanna's mother is Emily Howard, her father's brother (so her uncle) had Martha Howard who was Plimpton's mother! Not only that, Martha's sister Rachel was married to Jacob Y. Beers and they had Emery, who married Joseph Carper and Emily's daughter, Elzina! Honestly, if you studied all the people buried at Chester Baptist Cemetery and the people at Bloomfield, they are almost all related to each other. It really is amazing.

Today it is grey, windy, and snowy. We got about an inch and a half last night and it is supposedly going to snow some more today. Yay! So, this morning we are going to make some coffee (already have the hot tea!) and I am going to vacuum some of the books upstairs. Last night I did four shelves of the childrens bios. A couple nights ago I did five shelves of the Wanna-Bes. It is so nice looking when they are dusted and all even on the shelves. I am listening to an audiobook of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". It is read by Emilia Fox, who played Georgianna in the 1995 mini-series. I am over half way done and really enjoying it. Lizzy just toured Pemberley with her aunt and uncle. So, those are my plans for this beautiful snowy day. :o)

". . . the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation . . . " - 2 Chronicles 31:18b

Welcoming the New Year with "Lord of the Rings"

Another Year, another New Year's Day, another Trilogy Tuesday. Ever since the real Trilogy Tuesday on 16 December 2003, we have celebrated the New Year by having our own trilogy day. When Lord of the Rings was coming out, we practically burst with excitement and anticipation waiting for the next movie to be released. New Line Cinema did a special one-showing-only deal where you could see all three films back-to-back. What was even more exciting was that they showed them the day before Return of the King was released! So, December 16th found us standing outside a theatre in North Canton at 9:00 in the morning. Mom, the two of us, and a friend went together.

They played the extended versions of Fellowship and Two Towers and then the last film! Boy, were we excited! The theatre was nice, and the crowd was great (since everyone was a real fan)! You got a sticker that you stuck on your seat and if anyone was caught swapping seats, they were ejected. The first film began at 1:00 in the afternoon. You got an hour between the first and second films, and 45 minutes between the second and third films. We ate at Panera for lunch, at Pizza Hut for dinner. The last film ended after 1:30 in the morning. It was really a fun way to see the third film, and really fantastic to be able to see the two extended versions on the big screen! Everyone got a special souvenir from New Line Cinema. They made special little stand-up frames that contain one real frame from each of the three films. We still have these in our room in shadow boxes. I even got one that had Elrond in it!

So, we made a family tradition that every New Year's Day, we watch all three films. We don't watch them any other time of the year so that they are special. This year we actually started early enough that we were able to finish them and it was only 10:30! It was a yucky day outside and we were all really tired, so nobody minded sitting all day. Since we replaced our surround sound receiver last year, it was fantastic (and loud!). The scene of the Flight to the Ford was as wonderful as ever. I am really wanting to try and make a little doll of Arwen in that scene. Of course, Elrond, Galadriel, and Eowyn were fantastic. Especially scene 56 in Return of the King. Sarah and I waited so long for that one scene, it is special!



Winter finally arrived. Snow, rain, wind, grey skies. Don't mind though. It is nice to be able to stay home and not have big plans. I got an audio book from the library that I am really wanting to listen to. Might go upstairs today and start. Pride and Prejudice, read by Emilia Fox (who played Georgiana in the 1995 mini-series). I bet she'll be fantastic!

We are still working on FindAGrave.com. We have sort of adopted Morrow County cemeteries and are working at getting photos and burial records transcribed for a lot of them. However, I have made slight detour. Mom found transcribed records of a Liverpool, England cemetery. It opened in 1825, was closed in 1898, and in 1913/14 they turned it into a park(!?). Removing the large stones, burying the flat ones and removing the surrounding wall and chapel. Now it is this flat grassy area without a sign or anything. I think it is weird. It is now a common spot to get your wedding photos taken. Oh, well . . . It turns out that Mom's great-great Grandmother's first husband and three of their babies are buried there! Fantastic, as she has spent years looking for them! So, I started inputting people onto findagrave. So far I have done 231 people. Gave myself an arm cramp yesterday. They have transcribed the records from 1825-1837. Only twelve years (only! ), but there are over 13,000 people buried in those twelve years. I told Mom this morning, I have managed to do two days this week where I input 100 names. At that rate it will take me over 130 days before finishing! What you probably don't know is that there are over 80,000 people buried in that cemetery (which was an area that was not quite 5 acres). Whoa! So, I will keep working!

God's blessing on the New Year!
"lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:20b

Let's watch the old year die, with a fond goodbye . . .

"One minute to midnight, one minute to go. One minute to say "goodbye", before we say "hello". . . "

[PHOTOS COMING. . . ]
Well, OK. Not exactly one minute. More like seven hours. But how romantic is that! I like Irving Berlin's version better. Christmas was wonderful. We had a nice morning doing presents. I got a whole box of old Etude magazines. They are very interesting. Took me three evenings to go through the contents of them all. I pulled some articles aside so that I can type them up for my movie and opera blogs. Even found one that has an article on Deanna Durbin's "current" film, It Started With Eve! That was exciting. I also got a Blue's Clues beanie. It is so cute. Let's see, some of the other exciting things were two Julie Andrews Christmas CDs, a glass emerald, a fantastic snowed Lilliput Lane of an oast house in Kent, and several old leaf-shaped pins.

I spent the day before Christmas Eve working on Sarah's presents. Two charm bracelets. One that has all different charms for Bing Crosby and Nelson Eddy, and another with all kinds of Cuba-themed charms. We also got her some books, an old "pin money" bank, a honky-tonk piano player planter, and this set of four very odd-looking German Christmas decorations (four guys playing musical instruments).

Dad got a bunch of fishing themed things. A cool ceramic travel mug, a decorative storage chest, pajama pants, etc. Also, a really cool set of Cuban stamps. They were fun to find. Got them at the National Stamp Show in August. It was a blast trying to keep them a secret from Dad! Mom got the usual candy and Jelly Bellys, a glass basket like her Gramma used to have, Yes, Minister, and Sarah and I bought her a bean cookbook. It isn't released until January 15th, so she has something to look forward to. It says it has 150 different bean recipes!

At noon on Christmas, we went down to Buddy and Kay's for dinner. She had her family up like usual. Always fun over there. We stayed until evening visiting. It was a lovely Christmas. Fun morning, fun afternoon. Nice to go somewhere for Christmas. All in all, we all think this was one fo the best Christmas days ever!

On Thursday, Mom and the two of us went up to Mansfield and just had a fun, easy day. Got some cat food, went to Panera. Just simple and fun. Yesterday all four of us went out. Headed to Columbus, but stopped at two cemeteries on the way. Had to take a few photos at Chester Baptist, so Dad got to see Truannie's monument! We also spent over an hour looking for some old cemetery in Pagetown (not exactly the booming metropolis!). Finally found it behind somebody's house. Managed to take photos of all the remaining stones before it really started raining. Then we headed down to Whole Foods to get coffee and milk. Ran out of organic coffee last month. Bought some coffee at Kroger which was terrible! This morning we had some nice, wonderful coffee. :o)

Tomorrow is our annual Lord of the Rings day. Every New Year's Day we watch all three LotR films in a row. Makes for a long day, but so much fun! Almost 12 hours of solid film time. This year we are going to make sure and start soon enough so that we can finish. Several times it has gotten so late that we all fall asleep. No fun to not finish. We have been doing this ever since we went to Trilogy Tuesday in 2003. What fun!

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. . . " - Genesis 1:14

Christmas with the Keultjeses

Tuesday night was our annual Cuban dinner with the Keultjeses. We spent the day getting the nice dishes down and washed, setting the table and making the food. Gramma and Grampa sent a box of plantains and yucca. Plantains . . . Mmmmmmm! They were great this time. Not too green. I like them when they mush flat and start turning black. Yum! They are always a blast when they come over. Just wish it was more often. Claire and Hannah are up here until Saturday morning, and coming here was the first thing they wanted to be sure to do. :o) It was really a fun evening. Time flew by and before we knew it it was late. Good fellowship always makes the time go faster. Christmas wouldn't be the same without the Keultjeses! Actually, now that I think about it. I don't think that we've had a Christmas in Ohio without them!



Yesterday, I spent the day wrapping and working on Christmas presents. Mom and Sarah spent the day making rum balls. They ended up making four different kinds. Bourbon rolled in coffee, Bailey's and Kahlua rolled in powdered sugar, German chocolate (Frangelico rolled in coconut), and cherry brandy rolled in sugar (with a brandied cherry inside!). We wanted to give some to Hannah and Claire to take home, but didn't get them done before Tuesday. So, we ran up to Mansfield last night. Impromptu and fun. They had called Mrs. Furr and she came over too! We all ended up staying until after 9:30pm! It was sooooo fun. Claire and I probably drank a gallon of hot tea. She kept making it, until they ran out of one kind of tea bags! Mrs. Keultjes kept digging up snacks. It was really fun, especially to get to spend time with Claire and Hannah again. They don't get up here often, so it is always great to get to see them.

Today we were going to go up to Stan Hywet to see the Christmas decorations. However, I think the weather is going to be better tomorrow, so we might be going tomorrow instead. If we stick around, then I will work on that present some more today and maybe finish wrapping some more presents.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

Catching up on the Summer

Well, well . . . it has been a long time! My computer broke, so we had to take it to the repair guy. It stayed there for several weeks. He found out that it had overheated and burnt out the fan on the video card, which overheated itself and just burnt up. Poor thing! So, I now have a new video card and my computer is not making that awful noise anymore! Yay! Now, to catch up on our very busy Summer . . .

First - the State Fair. We ended up going the Wednesday they opened. Dad got second and third place for his woodcarvings and Sarah got first, second, and Best of Show for her wool people. She entered Her pair of Commedia Dell 'Arte figures and her new gnome with the squirrel, Pat and Mike.BOS went to P&M. The fair on a whole, though, was very low on entries. They only had as many as an old Tomato Show used to get. Cool, but I don't think I would go again for a while.

The Sunday after, we did go to see The Adventures of Robin Hood. It was swell. Even Dad liked it! The reels were probably the best quality ones we have seen yet. You can see and experience so much more of the film seeing it on the big screen. Fantastic! The Sunday after that we saw the last movie of the season (for us, anyway). Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. How cool! Huge! The reels were in poor shape, but it really made you feel like you were in a submarine. The squid fight was impressive! Such a fun movie.

Monday, Mom and Sarah went to Columbus to pick up the State Fair entries. I decided to stay home since the upcoming two weeks is a lot of out and people. It was nice to have some alone time. All the cats went to bed, except Oliver. ;o)

The APS Stamp Show was Thursday through Sunday. We went all four days. Dad went the weekend. How exciting. So fun. I don't think I have had so much fun in ages. Really worth waiting for. We met some really nice dealers. Got some fantastic stamps and things! It was at the Columbus Convention Center, which is absolutely huge! You walk and walk and walk . . . In the food court (which was on the opposite end as the Stamp Show) was a Subway which we ended up eating lunch at every day. That was fun too. We would get our subs and before eating we would mark off the lists all the stamps that we had gotten that morning. Show each other the really swell finds, etc. It was just so fun! Then back to the show for more looking. God really, really blessed us with some fantastic deals and finds. Sarah got some stamps that she never thought she'd get, really. I got so many Monaco stamps that I can really see the finish line. I never thought I would get this far. I even got the cool Jules Verne set. On Sunday, I went to a dealer and bought a Deanna Durbin fan mail cover. He got so excited. He had never heard of her until he got those covers and he had looked her up online and fell in love with her singing. He loves to sing along with her and, so far, his favorite is Nessun Dorma. In the end, he gave me another Deanna cover and money so that I could mail him some Deanna stuff! He is from Austin, TX. So fun to find someone else who likes Deanna! I'll post more about the stuff we got and photos in another post.

We were home for a few days and then on Friday we flew down to Florida. The trip that has been in the planning for months - and almost canceled more than once! - finally took off. Flew into Orlando, rented a car, and drove to Gramma Gail's. She took us to dinner at this really cool restaurant. Non-chain. Pizza Gallery and Grill. Second only to The Vegetable Garden. WOW! Dad and I got up at 4:30am the next day (Actually, Sarah and I were so hot that we woke up at 2:30 and didn't really go back to bed!). Dad had charted a fishing guide for half a day on the Banana River, so I thought I would tag along for wildlife sighting. The drive was cool because it was black night still and the road was so flat and straight, with all the lights it was neat looking. We had a little trouble finding the dock. Florida has no signs. Turns out there was an algae bloom, so you couldn't see anything unless it was out of the water. At one point I though we were really deep, and when he finally moved the boat to a different position, he said it was only a foot and a half deep! We saw some dolphin dorsel fins, and a manatee stuck his nose out for a second right next to me. Dad didn't catch anything. For the first four hours, it was overcast and not bad, but then the sun came out and I was pretty miserable for the last two hours. It wasn't great. I didn't really like the guide. Saw lots of cormorants and some pelicans, though.

We went back to Gramma's house and showered and then the others came home. Gramma took the three of us (Dad did a project at home) to see the base and we stopped at a little cigar store. I got several different cigars for my cabinet. I am so excited! Went back home, packed and headed down to Ft. Lauderdale. Met Aunt Lori, Uncle Jack, Brien, and Kelly at Villa Rose for dinner. Ended up staying until the restaurant closed and then until 11:30 in the parking lot! Probably the most fun time ever with them. Really a blast! Kelly is so grown up! I still think of her around two years old. We went to the Garcia's house. We went to bed really soon. I ended up staying up over 22 hours! I always wanted to know how it felt to stay up for 24 hours. Getting so close, I realize it isn't all it's cracked up to be . . .

Sunday wasn't very good. We had a blast with Benny and Tia Ela and Clemente! They are so sweet and cute! Benny is really nice. I really like him. So friendly and happy. Got to see Leilani too. She is so big. So cute! Monday morning we did laundry and Mom and the two of us then went shopping to get something for Jennie and go to lunch. Found this nice new Subway. We ate and drank a lot of tea. Stayed there for 2 1/2 hours. Irained and rained and rained. We left during a lull. Rain down there is so funny. The drops are huge and warm! So much rain that it was flooded when we got to Gramma and Grampa's house. There parking lot is so low. Mom dropped us off at the ramp, but we had to walk through four inches of standing water in canvas shoes! Then I decided to see if Mom could get back from the car, and remembered that there is a very dry way from the parked car to the building if you don't mind walking on the grass along the base of the building. Anyway, by the time we got under the roof, I was so soaked that it was running down my face. We all just changed clothes. Rain was done by the time we did the last laundry. Dad and the two of us went to visit Leonore. She looks swell! She is so cute and sweet. She loved the doily I crocheted for her. She told us all about the ones she had in Cuba. Actually, she and Dad taalked about Cuba and the religion/politics that was the downfall, and the similarity of America and Obama. She is so wonderful. Aunt Elena, Uncle Manolito, and Patty (with Leilani) came over for pizza and the evening. Mom and the three of us talked to Patty in the bedroom for a long time. Leilani is so cute.

We left for the airport really early. Sat around the terminal for almost three hours. The flights home were really rough! On the first one to Orlando, the turbulance was so bad that one of the air stewardesses was thrown into an empty seat next to a guy. Boy, were they both surprised! We ate at a Pizza Hut on the way home and then we got to see the kitties! Cute little babies! I always miss them during trips.

Well, let's see . . . since FLA we have been canning and freezing. We froze peppers, onions, green beans, wax beans, and zucchini. We canned potatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, beets - pickled and plain, pickled onions, pepper jelly, three bean salad, edamames, etc. I want to try pickled eggs! Yesterday we made and froze Pesto! Mrs. Keultjes sent us her recipe and, after all these years of loving it when we go to her house, we made it! Boy, is it fabulous! And it is really healthy for you!

The new chairs for the back room that we had ordered, ended up not working. Long story. They weren't what they said they would be. So, we got a refund. However, we had already sold the loveseat in prep for the new chairs. So, we decided to look for a nice used chair that might work. That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we went to the auction house and there was a really nice black, leather recliner. Solid metal frame and thick leather. We decided to try for it. Also, at the auction was a nice sewing end table that matches Sarah's and another end table that Mom liked and - best of all, really - there was a box of Nancy Drew books. a set of titles 1 -55! They were beautiful. Like ones we would buy. I would love to have a set for me, so we decided to go for that too! Dad dropped Mom and Sarah and then we met them over there at 8:30. They got the Nancy Drew books for $40! Yippee! Actually, they got all four things. The whole night cost less than half of one of those chairs and a lot better quality! I cleaned the chair and the next night we carried it up and rearranged the furniture. In the end, it looks really nice and Mom and I are happy with the recliner and the sleeper sofa for watching and hobbying. We also found the perfect curtains for the back room at a rummage sale. Old heavy drapes that have old British village scenes on them. The room finally is looking almost done and wonderful!

Sarah and I went to Buddy and Kay's week before last to help them set up their new 18-track recorder. Sarah and Buddy talked while Kay and I read through the instruction book and by 5:30 we had recorded Buddy doing a 40 second section on four different tracks and had a finished cd! It was fun. Buddy and the two of us played some songs, we made dinner and solved the problems of the world. They took us home after 9.

So, I see this is a very long entry. That is what happens when your computer breaks . . . you get behind!

- To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Rain . . . Beautiful Rain!

This morning we are having a gorgeous rain. A nice soaking, beautiful rain. No violent thunder. No lightening. Just clear, cool, wonderful rain! We rarely have real rain. I love it. Makes me feel happy and energetic. If I had been dressed I probably would have gone out in it! A wonderful time to curl up in a big chair in the back room with a book. If it was colder, I'd say with hot tea as well, but how it feels now, I would probably prefer an ice cold ginger ale! So, a beautiful morning to start the day off. Thank you, Jesus, for rain!

He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. - Deuteronomy 11:14

The Horror of Summer and The Beauty of Lupines

Today we hit the record highs. Made it to 91 degrees F here. 88 F in the house! Needless to say, I am dying. The cats are dying. Mom is dying. Sarah is even hot. And people wait all year for this season. They can have it!

I am looking forward to Winter again! Coolness, snow, birds framed against the snow and ice, hot dinners, Christmas, early sunsets . . . everything. ( Irving Berlin said it best - "Where it's snowing, all winter through, that's where I want to be . . . )

The only nice thing is that the lupines are absolutely gorgeous! Stunning. I think I could have an entire field of lupines. I think Lupines must have been in the Garden of Eden. They truly sing the beauty of God. "Lupine" would be a great name for a pet! I can't look at them enough. I hope they continue to spread. Simply breathtaking! I think I'll go upstairs and read "Happy Winter" and "Miss Rumphius" . . .

Snow In View . . . O! The Joy

O! The joy! Last night we got a dusting of snow. Enough to make everything almost white again! I am so happy. This morning I went out and filled all the bird feeders and it was just gorgeous. Actually, it is quite funny. Yesterday it was in the 50s and I was wearing short pants. A huge storm blew through though, even had tornadoes. We could hear the sirens from Fredericktown and Dad's work had to go into the shelters!

I am happy about the snow. We had oatmeal and hot tea for breakfast and I am wearing a new long sleeve shirt. Fun, fun, fun.

"For to the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,'. . . " - Job 37:6

New Memory

Oh, boy! Am I really happy today! The RAM in my computer has been dying all year and we finally ordered some new sticks which arrived a few days ago. Yesterday, I cleaned out my desk and pulled the CPU up onto the dining room table. While waiting for Mom to help me I decided that I could at least clean the dust out of it, so I took the case off and vacuumed it and cleaned the fans. Then I decided that I could at least remove the old memory. Since nothing bad happened when I did that I decided to go ahead and put the new ones in myself. A little nervous, but it went smoothly and I put it back together and plugged it in and, guess what? It worked! I couldn't be happier! Also, the computer is so fast now! I can open multiple screens and hopefully it won't crash any more.

Christmas, New Year, Auction, Lord of the Rings, Poirot, and Scrapbooks!

Our Christmas / New Year's events are all over! Now comes the time that we call "After Christmas". At least, during the year that is what we always call it. You know, "After Christmas I am going to do . . .". We had a very fun December. Sold a lot of stuff on eBay earlier in the month. This year, on New Year's Eve, we all went to the Auction house for their big auction of the year. They didn't have lots of box lots or anything. A lot of guns, a lot of glassware. But there was fun stuff to watch. It started at 10:00 in the morning and we left at 5:30 before they were quite done. They had some really nice furniture. Sarah got a sheet music cabinet that is really nice.

New Year's Day dawned grey and rainy, but warm. 57 degrees actually. Heat wave! Perfect day for our traditional movie marathon. "Trilogy Tuesday" is what we call it, no matter what the day is. We all sit and watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy all the way through. This year we started earlier than last year (We didn't even get to watch the last disc last year.). As always, the movies were wonderful. My favorite scene is the Flight to the Ford in Fellowship, however, the one that Sarah and really wait for is "Scene 56" in The Return of the King. Which is were Eomer finds Eowyn on the battlefield and she is in the Houses of Healing. We waited so long for it to come out on the extended DVD. We actually finished before 1:00am! It was very fun.



The next day, Sunday, we went to church at Providence, then we stopped and picked up a set of Scott's Stamp Catalogues from Steve. Goody, goody. That was a Chritsmas present for the family. They are 2009 and in colour! Then we went to Panera for lunch. That is always fun. When we got home, it was upstairs for me to start wrapping presents! As I had not wrapped any yet, I had a stack. Sarah needed up in the back room with me to put the finishing touches on Mom's present, so I wrapped all the presents and then put the ribbon on while she was with me. Actually, she even helped!

It was so nice, relaxed, no rush. (I have a feeling that that is "On account of, because"). Sarah and I had been working on a present since March. Mom had been wanting a felted doll since Sarah made the first ones, so we decided on a little Poirot. We finally found a box at a thrift store that was perfect! It opened the wrong direction, so I cut the velvet lining and the styrofoam insert out and re-glued them in the other direction. As well as re-padding under the velvet so that the doll would fit correctly. Then I got a gel pen and drew the Poirot logo on the top. It really looked swell! Sarah did a fantastic job on the doll and we even got a real sterling silver chain to make his watch chain! The lapel pin is a little company tag off of a chain that I had to cut up for parts. Sarah and I had sent for an autograph from David Suchet back in May and he had been kind enough to reply. However, that was before we had the box and the photos that we had sent were way too big! So, we sent a new photo the size of the box, hoping that it would get here in time. If it didn't, we decided to print a plain photo, but the effect wouldn't be the same. On December 28th, a plain number 10 envelope arrived, and Sarah recognized it right away! We couldn't have been happier that day. It was perfect! He did such a nice job signing in the space we left. Really, really nice. Mom was totally surprised and thrilled! God really blessed us in the fact that everything we needed fell together at just the right moment. The box, the lapel pin, the autograph!

Sarah got her Secondhand Lions pull toys that I had started last December. I had really dreaded having to paint the giraffe, as there is not cartoon of the giraffe. Dad just drew it in the style of the others. Well, once I really got started he looked so nice that he quickly became my favorite and I was sorry when I was finished. He, however, is too tall to be a pull toy, so we are going to make him into a table lamp. They turned out really cute. Couldn't be happier with them. Dad's cut out jobs are so nice.



I will do a post about my scrapbooks later! Too much for this one. On an ending note, we went up to Mansfield on Monday and took a bunch of metal things to a coin store (they buy precious metals. Like recycling!). Single earrings, broken chains, Dad's old gold crown, etc. Well, Dad and I dropped Mom and Sarah off and we ran a few errands. When we got back, they had finished looking and were adding it all up. We all expected about twenty dollars. Sarah and I started looking at some of the coins, and when we saw them start ringing up on the cash register, we headed over to see the final amount. She was counting out the money on the counter and we couldn't have been more shocked when it turned out to be $138! You could have knocked us both over. Not bad for a little pile of junk lying around the house. So, our year went out with a bang! Although, I am Praying that God gives us a slightly less eventful year this year!

"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen"

Christmas, The Keultjeses, Cuban Food and . . . Cheesy Apples!

Every year, either on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Boxing Day, we have the Keultjeses over for a real Cuban meal! Sarah and I can't remember not seeing them at Christmas. When we used to live around the corner from them, we always saw each other on Christmas. Sometimes we would go there, other times they would come to our house. I remember one year, when it was really snowy and the roads were bad, they piled all there presents on a sled and trudged through the snow to visit!

The Cuban dinner started when we moved here. Since we didn't see them as much and the girls were at school now, we thought that would be a nice way to celebrate. Gramma and Grampa always send a box full of yucca and plantains a few weeks before, just for the occasion. Mom and I had already made the black beans, and Mrs. Keultjes was bringing the garlic bread!

Well, this year. after selling so much on eBay and all, we decided that we wanted to enjoy our visit and not be too rushed, so we actually decorated on Christmas Day. We are going to wait and do our presents on Sunday. Sarah wasn't feeling as "Scroogie" as Mom and I were about Christmas decorations, so she and Dad put up the silver tree and decorated it with Shiny Brites. It is really nice, actually. Mom and I spent the day getting the good dishes out and finding the right amount of serving bowls and utensils that were needed for the dinner.

We decided to use our Silver Pine dishes. Mom and I love them, but don't really get a chance to use them. This time we brought out every piece we could possibly use and the table looked gorgeous! Keultjeses got here about 2:30 and dinner was about an hour later. As always, Mrs. Keultjes served at the table and the beans and everything were great! (Mom's black beans are even better than Gramma's!) Sarah and I had asked Mrs. Keultjes to bring a pan of cheesy apples for the meal. (They are simply one of the best foods that you can taste here on earth. Wow! She always made them when we were little and Sarah and I have never been able to forget them. We have tried making them, but they never seem to work like Mrs. Keultjes'. Hmmm . . . ) Happily, she told us that we should just keep them for later. Sarah and I, like the nice little hostesses, said "No. Let's share" - NOT! Actually, after they had gone back home, we all split them and ate them as a snack. They were just as wonderful as ever!

For dessert, Mom brought out her Rumtopf and brandied peaches. So they were served over pound cake and everyone really liked them. It was fun as this was the first time that we served the Rumtopf and Mom was very excited about it. Especially as it turned out so well. It was beautiful!