Christmas At My House
2007/12/25 11:40 Filed in: Journal
This is the first year that my family has had
Christmas at my place. It is also the first time
I've had Christmas at my place, since moving
here to work at 3ABN in 1999. It was a little bit
stressful, since Christmas fell immediately on the
heels of the GYC convention. Getting home from GYC
was a challenge in itself. You can read all about it at the
end of my post about GYC on my Xanga blog.
I had hoped to have a Christmas tree, but a full week before Christmas all the local suppliers (including Wal-Mart, Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's) were completely sold out. I don't really care for artificial trees ... they just seem so fake ... so this year we went without a tree. Well, not completely. My rubber plant and ficus did extra duty as stand-ins.
My rubber plant decorated with Christmas lights — not too bad:
All the gifts around the plants:
Because Eugene and Heidi were in a hurry to get back to OHC, we had Christmas a day early this year, on Monday. So for me, it feels like Christmas is already past, even though today is Christmas.
Eugene and Heidi with their pile of winnings:
My mom and Heidi did most of the cooking, but I did contribute a little bit. I found a recipe for "Apple Cranberry Crisp," and made that. The ingredients in the mixing bowl looked so good, I had to take a picture. I may post the recipe later.
Granny Smith apples and cranberries — the two key ingredients in Apple Cranberry Crisp:
Heidi and Eugene purchased this beautiful bouquet that decorated our table:
We had a really nice and filling Christmas dinner. But I didn't get any photos of it. The photo below is from our much lighter supper.
Eugene, Heidi, and Mom:
Finally, in the evening we played a game of Rummikub, and then watched a video (The Privileged Planet). It was a fun day, and I really enjoyed the time with family. Seems like all too soon it was over.
I had hoped to have a Christmas tree, but a full week before Christmas all the local suppliers (including Wal-Mart, Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's) were completely sold out. I don't really care for artificial trees ... they just seem so fake ... so this year we went without a tree. Well, not completely. My rubber plant and ficus did extra duty as stand-ins.
My rubber plant decorated with Christmas lights — not too bad:
All the gifts around the plants:
Because Eugene and Heidi were in a hurry to get back to OHC, we had Christmas a day early this year, on Monday. So for me, it feels like Christmas is already past, even though today is Christmas.
Eugene and Heidi with their pile of winnings:
My mom and Heidi did most of the cooking, but I did contribute a little bit. I found a recipe for "Apple Cranberry Crisp," and made that. The ingredients in the mixing bowl looked so good, I had to take a picture. I may post the recipe later.
Granny Smith apples and cranberries — the two key ingredients in Apple Cranberry Crisp:
Heidi and Eugene purchased this beautiful bouquet that decorated our table:
We had a really nice and filling Christmas dinner. But I didn't get any photos of it. The photo below is from our much lighter supper.
Eugene, Heidi, and Mom:
Finally, in the evening we played a game of Rummikub, and then watched a video (The Privileged Planet). It was a fun day, and I really enjoyed the time with family. Seems like all too soon it was over.
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Thanksgiving Vacation
2007/11/25 22:31 Filed in: Journal
As stated in my previous post, November 21-25 I spent
with my family at my brother Eugene and his wife
Heidi's place in Arkansas, which is on the campus of
Ouachita Hills Academy and College.
The ride there was somewhat stressful. Somewhere near the Arkansas border I ran into torrential rains. While listening to the radio I learned that quarter-size hail was falling somewhere in my general area, a severe storm warning was in effect, and a tornado watch had been issued. Between steady strobe flashes of red lightning I did my best to keep my eyes on the road. Most of this occurred after sunset.
I was glad to at least have a nicer vehicle for the weekend. My Jeep has been having transmission problems and other issues. Getting stranded several hours from home over a holiday did not sound like the kind of outcome I'd want to risk experiencing, so I rented a Volvo S60. (I had reserved a "standard" car, but for some reason Enterprise didn't have it ready. So I was stuck with the Volvo.) It was a very comfortable car with nearly all the features a person could want, and it is the first car I've driven with a speedometer that goes up to 160. It handled very nicely, and was very responsive. The only negatives were that it had a somewhat bumpy ride on certain surfaces, and it was somewhat of a fuel hog (I think my Jeep gets better mileage!) — and it was also a little too easy to speed when driving it.
Because my Jeep's radio and cassette deck have been nonfunctional for some years now, I got to enjoy some things usually absent when I drive: the radio, and music CDs. I think I found the perfect music for driving: Vivaldi's Cello with Yo-Yo Ma. I also listened to NPR, which I hadn't heard in ages. I love the voices of the NPR hosts. The two programs that occupied most of the that evening where Marketplace and Fresh Air. Both were quite interesting.
Finally, sometime after 9:00 p.m., I arrived at my brother's place. My mom had arrived only about 15 minutes earlier. It was good to see everyone.
On Thursday we went hunting for arrowheads, a past-time Eugene and Heidi have enjoyed. They have quite a collection now. I found what Eugene identified as part of a knife. Others found other minor things, nothing too exciting. I also found a perfectly smooth, round stone, about the size and shape of a softball that's been squashed a little. Ordinarily it wouldn't have been interesting at all, but it was the only stone like it in the field; all the others were rough and jagged. It made me wonder if it had some sort of use long ago.
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, with "turkey" almondine, potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, and three kinds of pie — pumpkin, pecan, and carob pudding. Heidi's sister Pam was there with her children, and also her brother, and some students.
On Friday we posed for a new family portrait (this one was taken on my camera, but there were other poses taken with other cameras, which I haven't seen yet).
We also played a very long game of Taboo, enjoyed some National Geographic videos, went to church at the church plant Eugene and Heidi have been helping, and visited a nursing home. I also managed to get in some long-needed naps.
Overall it was a nice vacation. I hope you enjoyed yours!
The ride there was somewhat stressful. Somewhere near the Arkansas border I ran into torrential rains. While listening to the radio I learned that quarter-size hail was falling somewhere in my general area, a severe storm warning was in effect, and a tornado watch had been issued. Between steady strobe flashes of red lightning I did my best to keep my eyes on the road. Most of this occurred after sunset.
I was glad to at least have a nicer vehicle for the weekend. My Jeep has been having transmission problems and other issues. Getting stranded several hours from home over a holiday did not sound like the kind of outcome I'd want to risk experiencing, so I rented a Volvo S60. (I had reserved a "standard" car, but for some reason Enterprise didn't have it ready. So I was stuck with the Volvo.) It was a very comfortable car with nearly all the features a person could want, and it is the first car I've driven with a speedometer that goes up to 160. It handled very nicely, and was very responsive. The only negatives were that it had a somewhat bumpy ride on certain surfaces, and it was somewhat of a fuel hog (I think my Jeep gets better mileage!) — and it was also a little too easy to speed when driving it.
Because my Jeep's radio and cassette deck have been nonfunctional for some years now, I got to enjoy some things usually absent when I drive: the radio, and music CDs. I think I found the perfect music for driving: Vivaldi's Cello with Yo-Yo Ma. I also listened to NPR, which I hadn't heard in ages. I love the voices of the NPR hosts. The two programs that occupied most of the that evening where Marketplace and Fresh Air. Both were quite interesting.
Finally, sometime after 9:00 p.m., I arrived at my brother's place. My mom had arrived only about 15 minutes earlier. It was good to see everyone.
On Thursday we went hunting for arrowheads, a past-time Eugene and Heidi have enjoyed. They have quite a collection now. I found what Eugene identified as part of a knife. Others found other minor things, nothing too exciting. I also found a perfectly smooth, round stone, about the size and shape of a softball that's been squashed a little. Ordinarily it wouldn't have been interesting at all, but it was the only stone like it in the field; all the others were rough and jagged. It made me wonder if it had some sort of use long ago.
We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, with "turkey" almondine, potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, and three kinds of pie — pumpkin, pecan, and carob pudding. Heidi's sister Pam was there with her children, and also her brother, and some students.
On Friday we posed for a new family portrait (this one was taken on my camera, but there were other poses taken with other cameras, which I haven't seen yet).
We also played a very long game of Taboo, enjoyed some National Geographic videos, went to church at the church plant Eugene and Heidi have been helping, and visited a nursing home. I also managed to get in some long-needed naps.
Overall it was a nice vacation. I hope you enjoyed yours!