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.  

The Work of Mercy - Book Review

The Work of Mercy - Being the Hands and Heart of Christ by Mark Shea has been on my list of books to read for a while now.

Being raised Catholic, I watched my parents model the seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy in their lives. They, to my knowledge, didn't do them all, but they did do the majority of them.

It wasn't until I was well into adulthood that I learned that there was actually a name and purpose behind them. I thought they were just doing what "good Catholics" do.

The seven Corporal Works of Mercy are:
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Clothe the naked
- Harbor the harborless
- Visit the sick
- Ransom the captive
- Bury the dead

The seven Spiritual Works of Mercy are:
- Instruct the ignorant
- Counsel the doubtful
- Admonish the sinner
- Bear wrongs patiently
- Forgive offenses willingly
- Comfort the afflicted
- Pray for the living and the dead

The first two Corporal Works of Mercy - about feeding those who are hungry and providing drinks to the thirsty (or access to clean, drinkable water) are self-explanatory.

The next one - clothing the naked - can literally mean providing clothing for those who don't have adequate clothing, whether in one's community or globally. Another interpretation is that the word "naked" does not mean "lacking clothes" but as "lacking modest clothes." I thought that was an interesting way to look it.

Harboring the harborless can be as simple as being hospitable - whether it is at church, an organization, or even at home. It can mean inviting someone over for tea or a meal or helping them find the right group within an organization to join (e.g., a choir, social justice group, environmental group).

Another part of the book I found interesting was about instructing the ignorant. It said, "Knowledge in the service of love, not pride, is the goal of instructing the ignorant. This is a work that is demanded of all of us sooner or later."

The author continued, "Virtually every human activity is taught us by somebody, and we are therefore all raised as debtors to a civilization we shall never be able to repay. Each of us has had a thousand teachers, not merely at school but from myriad other backgrounds and vocations.

Continuing down the list, there is the Spiritual Works of Mercy focused on forgiveness. The author said, "Unforgiveness punishes us, not the enemy. When we refuse to forgive, we hand our happiness over - forever - to people who may not know we exist, much less care.

"Refusing to extend forgiveness is one of the most deadly manifestations of pride in the world....Refusal to forgive trains us for nothing but misery."

I was pleased that, at the end of the book, there were organizations that one could support and/or volunteer their time at if they wanted to do these Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Some of their ideas combined with ones that I have supported include:

Feed the Hungry: 

Feed the Children - Both groups and individuals can volunteer to build boxes filled with food and essentials that will be delivered to families in need across the United States. Volunteers make the food-distribution programs possible by sorting and screening products, and helping assemble boxes loaded with much needed food and essentials. This is good for people who live in Pennsylvania.

Feed My Starving Children - I have regularly volunteered at the warehouse to pack food for children throughout the world who don't know where their next meal is coming from.

Give Drink to the Thirsty:

Global Water - From the organization's website: "Water … more crucial for survival above all other resources on earth. And yet, right now over one billion men, women, and children on the planet drink unsafe water. We believe that the lack of access to safe drinking water is the primary cause of hunger, disease and poverty throughout the developing world."

Clothe the Naked:

Organizations that accept clothing were mentioned. I think any local organization that accepts clothing would be grateful to receive items in good condition.

Harbor the Harborless:

There were national organizations suggested that help those who are homeless (adults and teens) and shelters for battered women.

Visit the Sick:

The book suggested volunteering through a hospice or the Ronald McDonald House.

Ransom the Captive:

International Justice Mission - There are more than 40 million people today who are in slavery. I had no idea there were that many. It's quite sobering to read that this is still going on. The International Justice Mission has ways for people to help put an end to slavery.

Bury the Dead:

World Vision - in addition to helping the living, this organization buries people who have died in natural disasters.

The book also has suggestions for the Spiritual Works of Mercy. I'm not going to list the ideas here since many are specific to the Catholic faith. That being said, there are many valuable ideas in this section of the book that people can follow or could find an equivalent in their own belief system.

A to Z Challenge - De-cluttering

During the month of April, I will be writing Monday through Saturday; and will exploring crafting, holidays, recipes, travel, and other items I've pinned on Pinterest. Each post will focus on a different letter of the alphabet. Today, I am focusing on the letter "D" and will be looking at my Ideas for the Winter Doldrums board.

There's a pin on my Beating the Winter Doldrums board with an image of decluttering 40 bags in 40 days. 

Source

This concept has been promoted on the internet to do in conjunction with Lent, which is happening now and goes through Easter (April 21st this year). 

I started to do this informally back on Ash Wednesday which was on March 6th. So, as of today, I should have 25 bags either donated, recycled, or thrown away. I only have 9 bags done so far, so I'm a bit behind. 

My goal this weekend is to go through my home office and get rid of fabric and craft supplies I no longer need or will use. That will easily catch me up to where I need to be. 

Something that Made Me Happy - November 2018

When I look back on November, there were many things that made me happy:

- The 15th anniversary of Olivia's adoption day on November 17th.

- The 17th anniversary of Sophia's adoption day on November 26th.

- Spending time with my family on Thanksgiving Day.

- Spending a couple of hours on the day after Thanksgiving Day packing food at Feed My Starving Children.

- Doing new and traditional things on the Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. It was a bittersweet weekend realizing that it was the last one in which all of us would be together as a family (with the girls both in high school).

One of the things that we did in November as a family was go on a college visit to Bethel University in St. Paul. The focus of the admissions event was music, so they had a cake reception with music department professors and the dean of the college; a behind-the-scenes tour of the auditorium; and tickets to watch the annual Christmas performance by over 300 students.

Below is a picture of what part of the organ looks like behind the stage.

We heard the handbell choir before the performance. It was beautiful. I really enjoy listening to handbells.

Another thing that made me happy was our pets. Below are Cooper and Scooby resting on the bathroom floor. The floors are heated so the pets especially like resting in the bathroom during the winter when the house and floors all seem chillier.

The pets get along with one another which is nice. Eenie, the cat, and Danny both wanted to sit on Sophia's lap. (Yes, there are a lot of dishes drying in the sink and on the counter. It's right after the big Thanksgiving dinner.)

Another thing that made me very happy was getting an email from the African Library Project saying that the books we collected back in March-May 2018 had arrived in Malawi, Africa.

The 1,012 books we collected and shipped are now being unpacked at the school that serves 465 orphans and vulnerable children. The picture bellows shows some of the boxes being unloaded.

Of course, one of the things that always makes me happy are beautiful sunsets. The sun is setting now more towards the southwest as we move into winter. I like this time of the year because we can see the incredibly vibrant colors of the sky and clouds.

With the leaves of the trees, we can see more of the sunset as well. I wish these colors could be painted on my wall so I could feel like I'm seeing this sunset all the time.