The Christmas List - Book Review

As I continue to recover from spinal surgery, I am able to read more books that I've wanted to read for a while now. Over the past few days, I read The Christmas List by Pete Nelson.

Initially, I thought that the book looked vaguely familiar and that the storyline sounded like one that I had read before. However, I didn't see any record on my blog that I had reviewed it, so I assumed I didn't read it.t

As it ended up, I had read it before. It was a good book to read again, and I am grateful I had the time to do so.

This story is based on a true story about the impact that encouragement and positive thoughts towards others can have on people - no matter what their age.

The story was inspired by a nun in Minnesota who had each student in her class write his/her name on the top of a piece of paper. The students would pass their paper to the person sitting next to him/her. That person would write something positive about the person whose name was on the top of the page. Then they passed it onto the next person who wrote a positive thing about the person whose name was on the page. This continued until all the students had the opportunity to write something nice on all the pages.

What was surprising to both the teacher in the story who did this exercise with her class as well as to many of the students who met later in life at a classmate's funeral, was that a significant number of the students kept their lists and referred to them throughout their lives.

There are sub-stories within The Christmas List which is set around the holidays. All are equally interesting and engaging.

I have already shared this book and its idea with a friend who is a teacher's assistant as well as who has a daughter and sister-in-law who are teachers. Hopefully, this year they will do this exercise and more young lives will be forever and positively impacted by the encouraging and supportive comments that other students share with them.

The Christmas List is well worth taking the time to read, especially as the holidays are approaching. It's a good reminder about how to treat others, and how to give people intangible gifts that will last for their entire lives. 

The First Phone Call from Heaven - Book Review

Ever since I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, I have wanted to read any book he has and will write. His writing style is engaging and thought-provoking. So, when The First Phone Call from Heaven came out, I added it to my list of "want to read" books.

I'm so happy that I took the time to read it as I'm recuperating from spinal surgery. Sometimes these forced breaks provide opportunities to read well-written and meaningful books.

Unlike The Five People You Meet in Heaven, this one was a mystery, of sorts. The story is set in Coldwater, Michigan (a fictional town in the book, but there's a real Coldwater, Michigan). People start receiving brief phone calls from loved ones who had passed away. There seems to be no connection to any of the people, their deaths, or the reason for the calls.

A reporter begins to cover the calls, particularly those that one woman, Katherine, is receiving. The coverage draws attention to the small town. Before long, people from all over the world are coming to Coldwater as pilgrims wanting to talk to or be close to those who have received calls; or to protest.

One of the people to receive calls from loved ones was Jack, the police chief. One conversation that he had with his son, Robbie, addressed fear. Robbie said, "God wants people to know not to be afraid...fear is how you lose your life...a little bit at a time...What we give to fear, we take away from...faith."

About midway into the book, one of the characters, Sully, is being focused on more. He was a military pilot who was cleared for landing and then, on the descent, landed on top of a Cessna. The Cessna belly-landed onto the runway, its rudder damaged by the larger aircraft's engine. Sully made the decision to eject from the plane as it pointed to an empty field and eventually crashed.

The air-traffic controller, realizing he was at fault, abandoned the control tower and sped away. At the same time, Giselle, Sully's wife who was coming to pick him up from the airport, saw the crash in the distance. As she said a quick prayer for his safety, she rounded the corner by the airport and Elliott, the air-traffic controller who was abandoning his post, drove his car into her car. He died at the scene, and she was transported to the hospital.

It was later found out that Sully had had a couple of drinks the night before, within the 12-hour window of safety (from bottle to throttle). Because the voice recordings at the control tower were inaudible in parts, the blame for the accident shifted to Sully who ultimately ended up serving time in prison during which time his wife passed away.

Once he was out of prison, he got a job at the local newspaper and learned that the obituaries for the paper were written by a secretary at the local funeral home. This was the same funeral home that had oversaw his wife's funeral. Sully became suspicious of people at the funeral home as well as with the paper; and believed that someone was behind the phone calls.

***Spoiler alert: don't read any further if plan to read the book. The ending is told below.***

As he is digging deeper into research and talking with people around town, the plan for a big event is taking place scheduled for a Friday after Katherine talks to her deceased sister who assures her she will call on an upcoming Friday.

Sully finds out that the funeral director, Horace, was involved in the military as well. He is able to find out Horace's last name with the help of Liz, the librarian, at the town library. She also is able to help him find Horace's home address.

On the day of the event, there is a major snowstorm which cancels most activities and makes it very difficult for anyone to get around. Nonetheless, the event continues as scheduled. The eight people who had been receiving phone calls would arrive at the event and get set up on stage. The hope was that some would receive phone calls during the event. However, if none did there was plenty of programming with paranormal experts, clairvoyants, and other speakers.

As everyone is on stage with their phones in hand, Sully is driving erratically through town to get to Horace's personal home since he found out he never works on Fridays...the same day that the phone calls from heaven always happen.

Almost in unison, the phone calls start ringing. One by one, they are answered.

At the same time, Sully has scaled a fence and discovered a building and radio tower that was camouflaged on Horace's property. He entered the building and saw computer monitors, keyboards, and racks of electronic equipment. Horace invited Sully to sit.

"What are you doing?" Sully whispered.

"If you didn't know, you wouldn't be here." Horace tapped several keys. "Here we go."

And with a tap of a key, Katherine's phone rang. Katherine answered it and it could be heard over loud speakers at the event.

With each question that Katherine asked, Horace typed something quickly. Her dead sister's voice, re-created, was now having a conversation with the living.

Katherine asked her sister about heaven. Horace typed the answer to which Diane's voice said, "In heaven, we can see you...We can feel you...We know your pain, your tears, but we feel no pain or tears ourselves...There are no bodies here...there is no age...The old who come...are no different than the children...No one feels alone...No one is greater or smaller....We are all in the light...the light is grace...and we are part of...the one great thing."

Katherine asked, "What is the one great thing?"

"Love...You are born in it...you return to it."

Sully was furious and ripped the cords from the electrical outlets, threw the monitors onto the floor, and swept the rack of equipment over. Horace believes he has done nothing wrong, while Sully sees it as some sort of lie and false hope that is being given to those who have lost loved ones.

When he was pressed as to why he did it, Horace said, "To make the world believe."

Sully asked, "Why does that matter?"

"If it believes, it behaves better."

"What's in that for you?"

"Penance...sometimes you sit in a cell and don't deserve it, Mr. Harding." He looked away, "Sometimes it's the other way around."

Sully felt lost. "Why those people?"

"It could have been others. These were enough." He went on to explain that he chose Coldwater because of Sully.

Sully still doesn't make the connection between Horace and himself. Horace encouraged him to read the deed to the house one more time. Then they exchange some more words, with Horace extending his condolences to Sully and that he was sorry he never got to say good-bye. Only angering Sully, he replied, "You don't know anything about her!"

"I will soon enough...I'm going to rest now. Please forgive me." With that, Horace presses a button on the wall and the room fell into blackness. Sully somehow manages to escape in the darkness.

He calls a reporter at the local paper who encourages him to let a reporter from a larger paper call him since they now know the calls were fake. Sully says to give him an hour.

He sent a frantic text message to Liz asking if she had the deed to Horace's home. She wrote back that he did. Looking through all the paperwork, he found it and the signature: Elliot Gray. The father of the air-traffic controller who gave the wrong landing clearance to both pilots.

Just as Sully was about to share the truth with a reporter, the line went dead. Moments later it rang again. This time it was a woman's voice: Giselle's voice. She encouraged him not to share what he knew. And so he didn't.

Soon after, the crowds of people left Coldwater and life resumed to what it was before in some ways. In other ways, life changed, relationships changed, and more people were attending church.

Mitch Albom writes, "Desire sets our compass, but real life steers our course. Katherine Yellin had only wanted to honor her sister. Amy Penn had only wanted a big career. Elias Rowe had only wanted to run his business. Pastor Warren had only wanted to serve God. Desire set their compasses, but the events in the last sixteen weeks had steered them far off course."

As the story concludes, Jack (the police officer) tells Sully that Horace had called the police station to report a dead man at his property. It ended up being Horace/Elliot. He told Sully that he took a letter from the desk and wanted him to read it.

The letter explained who Elliot was and what had transpired the morning of the accident. His son, the air-traffic controller, left his home angry after his estranged father had showed up unannounced and they had an argument. An hour later, he gave the wrong clearance for the landings.

While this was happening, the father was on the way to see his son one last time and give him his will. He heard the plane crash and went to the control tower to find his son yelling, "What did I do?" His father said to lock the door and let him handle everything since he had been involved with military communications and could erase all the data.

He came to Coldwater to settle his debts. He purchased a home and took on a new identity. He met the director of the funeral home and purchased a portion of the business.

Horace/Elliot said, "I...discovered that the grieving of others gave me comfort. I listened to their stories. Listened to their regrets. Nearly all of them had a single desire - the same desire, I suppose, that led me to the airfield that day: to speak with their loved ones at least once more.

"I decided, for a handful of them, to make it so. To make my last act one of empathy, and perhaps give you and your son something hopeful after your wife's passing."

After reading the letter, Sully looked at the time on his phone when he received a call from Giselle (after her death): 7:44 p.m. He called Jack at the police station to ask the time of death of Horace/Elliot: 6:52 p.m. How could this be explained? What did he believe now?

Close to the ending of the book, the author looks at how lives were positively changed because of these calls - even if they were orchestrated by Horace/Elliot. "In their own way, the calls had steered people to just what they needed" - whether that was friendship, a career change, comfort, the ability to make amends, a new future, or answers to prayers.

"We call out; we are answered. It has been that way from the beginning of belief, and it continues to this very moment, when, late at night, in a small town called Coldwater, a seven-year-old boy hears a noise, opens his eyes, lifts a blue toy to his ear, and smiles, proving heaven is always and forever around us, and no soul remembered is ever really gone."

Holiday Pillowcases Using the Burrito Method

For the local county fair this past July, I made two pillowcases - one for Halloween and one for Christmas. I had fabric and thread on hand for both pillowcases so the supplies cost me nothing. It was just my time for this project.

The Seasoned Homemaker has a good tutorial about how make pillowcases using the burrito method. It is the easiest and quickest way I have found to sew pillowcases.

The inside seams are French seams. The first time I did French seams, I thought I was doing it wrong. It's good to watch a video of how to do the seams, and Crafty Gemini has a short, clear video about making a pillowcase with French seams.

I definitely will make more homemade pillowcases. It's a fun way to use up fabric that I have on hand and make something useful with it.

Composer Study - Antonio Vivaldi

We're back doing composer studies again this year. With Sophia off at college, Olivia and I are taking some time to revisit things we used to do in elementary and junior high school. One of things we did was composer studies.

Adapted from the Charlotte Mason education method, we listen to six pieces by a composer; and the girls give their feedback about what they heard and if they enjoyed it. They learn a bit about the composer's life and see his/her picture.

The goal isn't to have the girls well-versed with the lives and repertoire of composers from the past and present. Rather, it is to introduce them to pieces they may hear throughout their lives, know the composer who wrote the piece, and have a greater appreciation for the music that they learn to play on the piano (or, in Sophia's case, the harp as well).

This month, we focused on Antonio Vivaldi who was born on March 4, 1678, and died on July 28, 1741. He was an Italian Baroque musical composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, and priest.

According to Wikipedia, Vivaldi was born in Venice, and baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife. This led to a belief that Vivaldi's life was somehow in danger either due to his poor health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the earthquake, Vivaldi's mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood.

Vivaldi was "...regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as the Four Seasons."

Vivaldi wrote many of his compositions for the all-female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children. Vivaldi worked there as a Catholic priest for 1 1/2 years; and was employed there from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. During these 30 years, Vivaldi composed most of his major works while working there.

The purpose of the Ospedale della Pietà was to give shelter and education to children who were orphaned or abandoned, or whose families could not support them. The boys, who learned a trade, had to leave when they reached the age of fifteen. The most talented among the girls, who all received a musical education, stayed and became members of the Ospedale's renowned orchestra and choir.

During his lifetime, Vivaldi was popular in many countries throughout Europe, including France, but after his death his popularity dwindled. After the end of the Baroque period, Vivaldi's published concerti became relatively unknown, and were largely ignored.

The resurrection of his unpublished works in the 20th century is mostly due to the efforts of Alfredo Casella, who in 1939 organized the historic Vivaldi Week. Since World War II, Vivaldi's compositions have enjoyed wide success.

The six pieces we listened to include four well-known pieces from The Four Seasons.

We started with the most easily-recognized song, Spring. Olivia said:
- It sounds familiar. I don’t know the same song. (Looking at the CD case:) Is this The Four Seasons? It sounds like it could be Spring or Summer. (It was Spring.)

We moved onto Summer. Olivia didn't have much to say about this song:
- I don’t know if I have ever heard Summer before.

Next was Autumn. Olivia said:
- I think I might have heard Autumn. I like this one. It sounds like I’ve heard it before. It reminds me of a ballroom full of people and they are doing a waltz.

Last of The Four Seasons was Winter. Olivia said:
- Winter sounds very mysterious – like you’re trying to sneak up on someone. The faster part sounds like a chase. I like this one the second best because it sounds like something I would listen to more. I like the tempo or speed of this one.

We listened to Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Olivia said:
- I thought it would just be the instruments and not any singing. I think I would like to hear it without the singing.

The final piece we listed to was Concerto in G Major for Two Mandolins and Orchestra - Allegro. This one we watched the video of as we listened to the music. Olivia said:
- I liked being able to see what they were playing. I thought it was some kind of string instrument not the size of banjo or guitar.

Pork Chops with Glaze

As I was looking for recipes on Pinterest, I cam across one for Pork Chops with Glaze. It comes from Taste of Home which has simple recipes using items typically found around your home.

My mom introduced me to Taste of Home well over 15+ years ago when she used to buy me subscriptions to the magazine. Each year I could count on a subscription to the magazine until the year she died.

At any rate, I wanted to try this recipe because I need to pre-make some food for my family when I am recovering from surgery (after October 10th). This was a two-day process. On the first day, you mix the marinade and then let it sit for eight hours or overnight in the refrigerator. The second day, you grill the recipe. Of course, on the second day, it rained. So, the pork chops were baked in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so instead. They turned out great - very flavorful and moist. If they had been grilled, they would have had that smoky flavor as well.

Ingredients

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed (I used a stalk of fresh rosemary)
8 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 7 ounces each)

Directions

In a small bowl, mix the first seven ingredients. Pour 3/4 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add pork chops; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight (note: I refrigerated the pork chops overnight). Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Drain pork, discarding marinade in bag. Lightly grease the grill rack.

Grill pork, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat 4-6 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 145°; brush generously with remaining marinade during the last 3 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

(Alternatively, if you are unable to grill: bake for about 40 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven.)

Nutrition Facts

1 pork chop: 246 calories, 8g fat (3g saturated fat), 86mg cholesterol, 284mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate (10g sugars, 0 fiber), 30g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 4 lean meat, 1 starch.

My Favorite Photos - September 2019

This month there was a shift in our activities since Sophia is now at college. For 13 days this month, Olivia was sick with an ear infection and pneumonia. We also found out that with the medications that she was on that she is allergic to penicillin. So, it has been a challenging month for different reasons.

I started out the month by completing the top (minus the border) of the Mystery Quilt that I've been working on since January.

We tried to keep some of the annual family traditions that we've done in the past even though Sophia is away at college. So, we went to Dairy Queen for a meal and dessert on Labor Day - the day before homeschooling began.

On the first day of 11th grade, Olivia requested pancakes for her special breakfast. In the bag are some gifts for the upcoming year.

I asked Sophia for a photo of her on the first day of classes at college. I was happy to see the photo she sent with her big smile...all ready for starting this next phase of her educational journey. 

 About a week after Sophia was at college, I put together a care package for her with a "We think the world of you" theme. It was fun to put together and it had about 20 items from a variety of different countries.

We continued to release butterflies throughout the month. At the beginning of September, there were still flowers on the butterfly bush. The butterflies loved the flowers and it seemed to give them the energy they needed before their flight to Mexico.

Sophia sent Olivia a package in the mail. She was SO excited to get a postcard with a message from Sophia on it, a box of Skittles, and a little stuffed lion keychain.

We loved releasing butterflies almost every day during September.

Sometimes we would release more than one butterfly a day which was exciting!

One of the highlights of the month for me was leading a group of volunteers from a local church in making about 20 shoe kits for Sole Hope. The kits are sent to Uganda where seamstresses and cobblers take the pattern pieces and make them into shoes for children who have jiggers.

We also created 20 health care kits that provide the supplies necessary for the children and families to do at-home care after they are treated for jiggers.

It makes me so happy to think that jeans that would have been discarded can be transformed into life-changing and - in some cases - life-saving shoes for children.

In early September, we had a visit from a black bear who bent one of our birdfeeder poles and smashed the birdfeeder to eat the birdseed.

I spotted a tiger salamander (also called a spotted salamander) on our driveway. These are Minnesota's most common salamander and they can grow up to ten inches long. They actually move quite quickly when they sense danger.

On the 10th of September, I took Sophia to the oral surgeon since she was having continued challenges with her wisdom teeth removal back in mid-June. Her face is still swollen due to persistent infection on both sides of her lower jaw. We enjoyed lunch together in the dining center at college.

Olivia and I had fun looking at the big costume head at the store. I liked this unicorn head. It seems super large on Olivia's petite frame.

Sophia had another follow-up appointment with the oral surgeon. This time after the procedure she needed to do an oral rinse. The antibiotics she's on cannot be mixed with any form of alcohol. It was very challenging finding a mouthwash that doesn't have alcohol in it, but Sophia found one!

On the 13th, we went for another visit. This one was a fun one because we played ping pong. None of us are great ping pong players, so the experience was one filled with lots of laughter. It was a great time together!

Olivia and I went to the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. There was a beautiful display of marbled items and murals.

Olivia released the last butterfly in the middle of the month. We felt so happy that we raised and released close to 40 monarchs!

My sister, Olivia, and I went to a fall festival that we had not been to before. The Wildlife Science Center was there and we enjoyed seeing the screech owl.

We enjoyed a lunch served by the Lions.

Olivia chose a duck from the duck pond. She said that she had never done a duck pond before. I never realized that. So, it was fun to explain what to do to a 16 year old.

We watched firemen use equipment to take apart a car - showing what would happen in an extrication.

I took Olivia on her first Parade of Homes tour of a few homes. She made herself comfortable at one home.

She really liked the room with the large stuffed animals.

There were cute chairs to sit on while you watched t.v.

I loved seeing the monarchs on the flowers. They liked the black-eyed Susans.

On the 17th, my friend, Karen, from pottery class came to visit our horses. She had a friend visiting from out of town (Beth) so she and Marilyn came with Karen to see the animals and have lunch together.

Danny and Cooper really liked spending time with Karen.

Olivia and I took another leather crafting class. Olivia made a leather bowl and learned a new stitch.

I've been trying to get a lot done before my upcoming spinal surgery on October 10th. As I was resting, two of the dogs and two of the cats were resting with me.

Danny misses Sophia. He is sleeping in her bed, probably hoping she'll come home soon.

Olivia and I went to the Marine Art Fair. These little purses and backpacks are made by a Hmong craftsperson. Sophia has the blue cat as a little purse. We were surprised that there is a backpack too.

Danny got a new sweater to keep him warm.

One of the things I've been wanting to do is get rid of a lot of stuff in the barn and small shed that we no longer want or need. We also had some items outside - like woven wire, bent t-posts, and plastic garbage cans from the previous owners - that I wanted to have cleaned up before the winter. We filled about 3/8 of the truck (there were things in the truck already from a previous job). It felt so good to get all this out of the buildings and farm.

My sister and I went to a booya at a church in a nearby community. I used to take the girls there when they were little. Last year, Sophia and I went to the booya. This year, they had an apple dessert, roll, and coleslaw along with the soup. It was a hearty meal (it was both my breakfast and lunch).

My sister was a good sport and put her face in the cut-out drawing of the grandma with the pot of soup.

It was good to do some new things this month as well as continue doing some things that are family traditions. I think as we navigate through this year, we'll seek out other new experiences and activities which will help us create new memories. It will be a healthy way of helping us cope with the changes and transitions that are happening as our daughters are getting older.

Holiday Dish Towel with Knife Pleats

Last year, I bought a dish towel kit at a local fabric/quilt shop on the Quilt Shop Hop. The kit included:

- Red Kitchen Towel
- Reindeer Fabric (4" x 22")
- Black and White Snowflake Fabric (3 1/2" x 45")

The towel was easy and fun to put together. To make it, iron 1/4" around the reindeer fabric to fit the width of the towel. DO NOT iron the towel.

Stitch 1/4" of the black snowflake fabric (width of fabric) and the two shorter sides. No need to do the top because it will be stitched down with the reindeer fabric.

To make the snowflake fabric pleated, you need to use a kitchen fork. Take one end of the unsewn edge of the fabric with the bottom tine of the fork. 

Twist it towards the feed dogs so that your fork will lay flat on the machine. 

Tighten the fork and fabric so that excess fabric is pulled towards you. This will give uniform pleats. 

Hold down the pleat and remove the fork before sewing. 

Repeat the process above for the remaining fabric.

Attach the pleated strip to the towel with pins; and then sew it in place.

Place the reindeer fabric on top and pin in place. Sew along the top and bottom edges (the width of the towel). 

Turn over the towel and fold the ends under. Pin and then sew along the edge of the towel to attach the reindeer fabric and place and give a nice, finished edge to the fabric.

The towel is finished!

This towel was easy to make and could easily be adapted for different seasons and holidays.