My Favorite Photos - December 2021

It's hard to believe it's 2022. I remember as a child my dad said, "You'll be 34 in the year 2000." 34 years old. The year 2000. Both seemed unfathomable. 

Here it is 2022 and I'm 55...56 in June. Again...unfathomable. Where has the time gone? 

Looking back on the last month of 2021, there were many photos that I enjoyed seeing and remembering things about. 

The month started out with rain.

The rain turned to snow.

On December 6th, we saw a sun dog. I don't think I've ever seen a rainbow one - just a white one. The photo shows the sun and one half of the sun dog. Imagine that rainbow going up over the sun and going down on the other side. It was huge and such as surprise to see so early in the morning. 

Sophia performed in the Festival of Christmas again this year in the handbell choir. 

She's a junior now. Seems like yesterday she was starting college.

The Festival of Christmas had over 200 student musicians. As always, it is an impressive show.

I made two apple pies in early-December. The crust is a recipe from my grandma on my mom's side who was a baker. I gave one pie to a friend who I took a felted luminaria class with, and the other we kept for our family.

On December 11th, Olivia coordinated a service event where she received funding to get fleece blanket kits that will be donated to Solid Ground. The organization supports people who are escaping from domestic violence situations and restarting their lives. This is one of 13 fleece blankets that were made. 

Also on the 11th, the Lions had a bake sale. I made these brownie bombs (which were really good...a new recipe!) and about a half dozen other recipes. I was happy to see that all the plates of treats I brought were purchased. The proceeds help support the Lions. 

On December 12th, Olivia was St. Lucia at church. The pastor had said something funny which made her laugh. 

As a family, we made a travel blanket for Sophia for her trip to Thailand. The travel time from here to San Francisco to Qatar to Thailand is something like 21 or 25 hours. The blanket is one she can use to cover herself up with as she sleeps on the plane. 

Olivia picked out the floral fabric and I picked out the purple minky. Paige, Olivia, and I each sewed a part of the blanket together. We gave it to her on Christmas and she really likes it. 

On December 18th, Sophia moved out of her suite on campus since she will be studying abroad for spring semester. She wanted to go out to eat at Namaste - an Indian restaurant - which we did. It was nice to have one-on-one time with her. 

On the 19th, after about 20 photos, I finally got a photo with the girls smiling and dogs seated (or laying down) and mostly looking forward.

On the 21st, Sophia had to get some shots for her study abroad trip. On the way back home, we stopped at a new bubble tea place which we both enjoyed. 

On Christmas Eve, we visited Dan (Paige's stepfather) at the nursing home. We did the visit through the window so we could see and hear one another. It isn't an ideal situation - we would much rather visit inside and give Dan a hug. However, she can't risk getting COVID and not being able to go on her study abroad trip. 

That evening, we had our traditional pizza dinner and each opened one gift. Danny was guarding the  presents. 

We gave Sophia Thai money for her study abroad trip to Thailand which starts on January 4th...only 3 days away.

Scooby stood guard on the presents under the tree on Christmas Day.

We gave Sophia a purple hard-sided suitcase for her study abroad trip.

One of Olivia's gifts was a plate and bowl set. She likes the color blue...plus she was excited about the big bowl for popcorn.

Christmas Day was a quiet one with just our family since the study abroad program asked students and families to quarantine. Students need a negative COVID test in order to board the international flights. If they don't have a negative test, they can't participate in the program. The stakes are high.

We had a maple twist coffeecake for breakfast - a recipe that came to our family from family friends. 

For dinner, we had ham, baked potatoes, Brussel sprouts, cornbread, and fresh fruit. 

So, after dinner, we drove to Minneapolis to look at the lights. This is a church across from the Walker Art Center. 

We enjoyed seeing all the lights on people's homes, trees, and front yards. Wrapped tree trunks were popular this year. We liked this tree with the wrapped tree trunk and then bulbs hanging on the branches. 

Olivia did some sewing on Christmas through New Year's Day. She was one of the assistants at a 4-H sewing workshop and didn't have a chance to make the bag using the fabric that was provided. She didn't care for the fabric that was provided so she made another version with llamas and cute graphics plus made the squares and bag larger. 

On December 26th, I saw 2 coyotes in the pastures. The woven wire fence is the only thing separating that coyote from the backyard where the dogs go out. There was some debate on the Facebook pages I posted this and other photos on about whether this was a coyote or wolf. It's a coyote because of the pointy ears and snout. Wolves have wide snouts/muzzles and rounded ears. 

The coat on the coyotes was gorgeous with a combination of cream, tan, brown, gray, and black.

I was super excited to see a pileated woodpecker in the backyard. This one looked for insects on the pine tree and visited the suet feeder. 

They are such large birds compared to other woodpeckers we see around the farm. These two photos show the size difference between a downy woodpecker and the pileated woodpecker on the same suet feeder. 

The feeders have been busy throughout December with goldfinches, woodpeckers (downy, hairy, and pileated), dark-eyed juncos, blue jays, cardinals, and black-capped chickadees. 

We left the native plants up in the garden as a food source and shelter for the birds and wildlife. It has been neat seeing all the tracks around the plants.

There are still some seeds remaining in the plants that the birds pick out and eat. 

On warmer days, the dogs have enjoyed playing outside. 

I love this photo of Cooper. He was jumping up and down at the gate as he watched me come in from garage. 

Our next-door neighbor cut down tree limbs that were hanging over the field next to us (his property). It is rented out and the farmer who uses it had said that the limbs were growing too far over the field and he couldn't plant the whole thing. 

So, he aggressively cut down the tree limbs and then cut them into woodstove/fireplace size. I stacked the left side and he stacked the right side. There's A LOT of wood! The next step is the split it all and then we will divide it. We'll both be set for a while. 

During December, I finished five quilts that my mom had started, but never completed before she died in 2015. I've had the quilt squares in a bin in my home office. Finally got around to sewing the squares together. Earlier this summer, the girls and I picked out fabric for the backing of the quilts. I had plenty of batting on hand, so it was good to use that up. 

I gave 2 quilts to my sister on December 26th (the 18th anniversary of the death of her husband who was only 38 years old when he died, making her a 35-year old widow raising two young boys). Another quilt Olivia chose. Two quilts were offered to my brother and Sophia, but both said they had enough quilts. Maybe someday they will change their mind. 

On December 30th, we celebrated Sophia's 21st birthday. Because we have to quarantine for her trip, it wasn't exactly how she or we envisioned spending it. However, we did get curbside food from a local restaurant that we hadn't yet tried, had cake, and opened presents. We also surprised Sophia with a Zoom call with her friends and family. 

On the Zoom call, I shared a PowerPoint presentation I made that showed photos of Sophia from infant to as recent as a day before her birthday. She was shocked and so happy. She is taking the recorded version of the Zoom call and a copy of the PowerPoint presentation with her to Thailand so she can watch it whenever she wants to.