Christmas Day

I documented parts of the day to share with my far-flung children. They would remember that we always had German stollen for breakfast. Thanks to Lise’s taking me to Aldi’s, I was set.

I attended church online last night, as well as this morning. I’m so grateful that this is possible.

Neighbor Logan (15) came over to show me what he had gotten for Christmas, and it was as much fun as opening things myself. He wore his new bag, talking about how much it would hold.

I saw what he meant when he took it off and opened it up. It’s large enough to hold a basketball! He’s going to use it when he goes to basketball games and needs to pack extra clothes and shoes.

Logan was also pleased with new clothes. He modeled fashionable baggy jeans, new sandals, and socks.

I wanted to see him using his new game player, which was taking a while to load. Suddenly he got a text from Holly, asking him to come over to check out a burning smell. Emergencies first! Logan went to her house on the run. I never saw smoke, so thankfully nothing was on fire.

I was impressed with Logan’s appreciation for his gifts. Nothing was taken for granted, and he was eager to share his good fortune. He patiently let me take photos, which people have said they are eager to see.

The day passed quickly because of the church service, phone calls and text messages. Although I was home alone, it was not quiet! I played John’s CD’s all day at volumes that could have been uncomfortable for others. It was a lovely way to spend Christmas.

Chef Logan

Neighbor Logan (15) appeared at my door early in the afternoon to say he was cooking chili and would bring me some in about an hour. I was thrilled. The day was seasonally cold, and hot chili would be marvelous.

Logan reappeared. Not only did he have a bowl of piping hot chili, but he was also able to make the doorbell ring. No one else in the neighborhood can make the train whistle blow. He said the bowl was hot, so I knew I couldn’t ask to take a photo of him with it. I took the bowl and carried it carefully to the table. He would have run and reached his front door before I set the bowl down.

I took a quick photo of the chili. What an enticing aroma it had!

I ate several spoonfuls before taking a selfie. After that, I relaxed and ate at a steady pace, finishing before the chili had cooled. Oh! My! It was superb!!

There was no witness, but the evidence was there. A person licked that bowl!! An animal would have licked the middle of the bowl, as well.

Shawn wrote that it was a belated Happy Birthday meal from Logan. Wow! How every special!

I texted Shawn to tell Logan how much I enjoyed it. I also asked, “Would it be possible for you to take a photo with Logan and the pot of chili? I’d love to do a blog post on this, if that’s permissible.”

I laughed at the reply. Shawn wrote, “Hah! Bob did the dishes and the leftovers are in a smallish bowl. And Logan went to Holly’s!”

These neighbors are speedsters!

I had written about the chili above, but the story wasn’t over. The doorbell rang, and Logan presented me with five warm cookies! The photo shows only four, because I ate one before the plate reached the table. Oh! Yummy! Logan is a marvel!

Logan’s Chili

I took a quick photo of the chili. What an enticing aroma it had!

I ate several spoonfuls before taking a selfie. After that, I relaxed and ate at a steady pace, finishing before the chili had cooled. Oh! My! It was superb!!

There was no witness, but the evidence was there. A person licked that bowl!! An animal would have licked the middle of the bowl, as well.

Shawn wrote that it was a belated Happy Birthday meal from Logan. Wow! How every special!

I laughed at the reply. Shawn wrote, “Hah! Bob did the dishes and the leftovers are in a smallish bowl. And Logan went to Holly’s!”

These neighbors are speedsters!

A Supremely Happy Birthday!

I’ve had many birthdays, but the one this year has to be one of the very best. I was surprised and extremely pleased to hear from many friends and family members from the last eight decades.. I’m not counting the first three years, which I don’t remember, anyway. There were phone calls, text messages, greetings on the blog, a drop by visit, emails, cards, and e-cards. Oh! How blessed I am!

I had to laugh at being disappointed in one greeting I asked for. Addressing the Echo device while it was still dark, I said, “Alexa, today is my birthday.” She replied that she would sing Happy Birthday to me if I asked her. I asked for it. She sang slightly off key to a poor accompaniment of canned music. It was just short of awful!

I stopped to put a few pieces in the jigsaw puzzle as I went by it. David had worked half of the right side days before, and I finished that third. I love working a puzzle in sections! It’s a manageable challenge.

I had started writing this when I heard footsteps on the porch and a knock on the nearby window. It was Logan coming over to wish me a happy birthday! He stayed to visit, which was delightful. He is off from school until January 6 and is looking forward to relaxing and going to basketball practice.

I stayed home the whole day, but it was anything but quiet. I’ve been playing John’s Christmas CD’s all day every day for the past week. I may be able to play them all before Christmas ends in January. I’ll begin earlier next year.

Thank you to everyone who made my day so special. You are very precious to me!

A Week without Writing!

Lise left 11 days ago, and yes, I have recovered. I’ve heard of mothers my age crying when their children leave, but I don’t do that. I grieve quietly a few days before Lise leaves. When the departure is imminent, I tell myself that she has airline tickets and has to go back to her normal life. It is also time for me to resume my single life. The photo shows her eating the last meal before leaving.

She was here for a full month, which is longer than usual. I got used to her being here. The day after she left, I kept expecting to see her appear or to hear her voice from another room. I reminded myself that she was home safely, and I wouldn’t selfishly pull her back.

Grandson David kept himself in the background while all the company was here. That was true of texting from daughter Kate and son John $, too. I appreciated being free to concentrate on people in the house. David and I went to Watami Noodle later in the week.

As a gift for me, one of Lise’s friends prepared dinner for us. She is noted for rice paper wraps in Denmark, and that is what we had here. She diced a number of vegetables, stirred together a peanut sauce, and provided fried chicken bites and cheese for the wraps. We each put them together for ourselves. What a treat that was! Days after, I discovered almost a whole head of cabbage neatly stored in the refrigerator, left from the wraps. I’m such a miser that I wouldn’t throw it away, even though I have very little use for cabbage. Whenever I hear that name, I think of school lunches when I was in grade school. For a few years, the cooks slapped a slab of raw cabbage on our plates at least once a week, and the teacher made sure we ate it. Lise and I did have another round of rice paper wraps. After she left, I cooked about half of the cabbage with apple and onion. It was edible, and David helped me eat it. While writing this, I decided I’ll make coleslaw with the remaining cabbage. I do like slaw!

A few days ago I took the innards of the family jigsaw puzzle apart, leaving the outer edge complete. I cheated, though. I put the left section of pieces on the left side of the puzzle, and the right pieces to the right. The middle was jumbled, but still in the middle of the puzzle. I have been delighted to work on it, putting in a few pieces a day. It’s so easy when I can see the pieces near where they belong, otherwise I’d be endlessly walking around the table. I may take it apart that way, putting the pieces in three separate plastic bags. I will definitely thank myself if I do that.

Running Deer

One of the last days daughter Lise was here, we were standing at the kitchen window together. Simultaneously, we spotted deer running in the pasture. I had never seen a deer there, much less six of them. I think you can understand why they are called white tailed deer. Those white tails were very visible as they ran. Lise whipped out her telephone and took a video. I tried texting neighbor Joyce at the same time she was calling me. I’m thrilled that all three of us got to see that display.

Lise’s Last Day Here

Daughter Lise and I were still talking a lot on her last day. Mostly, we prepared for her departure. As usual, she stripped her bed, washed the sheets, and remade the bed before leaving. I could do it myself, but what a gift to have it done for me!

Neighbor Holly had a favorite relative with her to take us to the airport. Lise and I adore Denise and never get to see enough of her. What a delightful time it was! We ate at Culver’s, our usual place for a casual meal and frozen custard. After running one errand in Asheville, we got home just before Lise boarded her delayed flight. She will let me know if she makes her connection in Atlanta.

I’m going to have an easy week, while Lise will be on the go. She should get back to Denmark on Monday evening. On Wednesday she’s going to Norway for a business meeting and will spend one night there. I can keep up with her on paper!!

Life Moves On

I asked daughter Lise to pose at her father’s desk. This is where she worked at all hours of the day and night to complete a huge project with her team at work. The project is complete, and she had a few hours of sleep before this photo was taken.

We celebrated birthdays with Shawn, since she and Lise were born on the same date. It was already December, so I lumped my birthday in with theirs. Between us is a beautiful hand-crafted angel that Shawn found at the Apple Festival in town.

We went out to eat at Twisted Spoke, halfway up the mountain above Maggie Valley. The special for the day was Chicken Lasagna, which all three of us chose. I’m pleased to say that we all took a box of left-overs home.

Project Finished!

Daughter Lise worked on a huge project the whole time her friends were here. She managed to do all the fun activities they had planned, and then she’d stay up all night working. I don’t see how she managed it all, but she and her team met the deadlines. I asked where the people were that she was working with, and the main ones were in Denmark, Norway, and France. Others from the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany were also involved in a more technical role. Frankly, I was impressed. Whenever I’d ask her what she did, she’d tell me one aspect of her job. It seemed like froth to me, but she became known as the English editor. She could whip a document into shape because she was a native speaker who knew both American and British English. The documents were put together by scientists and businessmen. She knew when to question the experts on technical details and when to suggest words for clarity. There were software glitches that made the job much worse than it should have been. Many different people made changes, and because they had keyboards with defaults for their own languages, things would change automatically that should have remained the same. That was a major problem involving this 350-page document. Lise worked at her dad’s desk and shut both doors when she was conferring with her teammates. What a relief it was when they finished the job!

Goodbye Magda

Daughter Lise and friend Magda shopped on Black Friday, although not early in the day. They took advantage of good sales, modeling the coats they bought.

On the way to the airport, we stopped at Culver’s. When Magda saw her cup announcing that it was her happy place, she posed for a photo to mark the moment. I’d say her face shows total euphoria.

Since we left Magda, I’ve had a full night’s sleep, eaten breakfast, gone to online church, done two loads of wash, and changed the tablecloths from Thanksgiving to Christmas. She is on the other side of the ocean now, waiting in Amsterdam to fly to Copenhagen. I’m truly grateful that Lise and her friends are willing to go to so much trouble to come here to visit me.