Celebrating the Year

The neighbors I rave about came together to celebrate the end of the year. We have never dressed up to visit with each other. This year one asked if she could wear pajamas, and another answered that she could if she was decent. Of course she looked fine. I wore lounge pants as part of dressing down.

We talked non-stop while nibbling on snacks. We were all glad no one has seen the skunk since Joyce’ s exterminator set off a bomb in a culvert under our street.

Two households had been targets of a scam from the internet provider we all use. That was a bit sobering.

My house seemed to be the only one that an orange colored male cat had not visited. No one is feeding the cat, but they said he looks healthy.

We were interested in hearing about Joyce’s Christmas, spent in a bed and breakfast house in the mountains of Arkansas. Her two daughters, one son-in-law, two grandchildren, and a dog were with her. It was wonderful to be together, but the nightmarish side was sharing the house with roaches, spiders, and deer ticks (the ones that carry Lyme disease).

We have all been amused at Bob and Shawn’s dog. When they have been out and have Izzie in the car, they let her out at the top of the street. She races the car to get home first.

Holly related how she met the newest neighbor. His dog escaped and pooped in her yard, and he was apologizing for it. I must be the only person who has not met him yet, although I wave at him fairly often as he drives past me while walking.

Cindy lives on a different street, but she is part of our neighborhood. She had just come back from visiting her daughter and family for Christmas. She says she always comes home sick, and this time it was a chest cold. Since she stayed home to protect us, we took a photo to send her. The pajama-clad one volunteered to take the photo with my phone.

Left to right are Jeff, Shawn, Anne, Joyce, Holly, and Bob.

Family at End of Year

Niece Kathie had the brilliant idea of getting us together before the year ended. She, Bob, and Beth carpooled from the middle of the state for part of the trip. Niece Julie and Mike had the dog Gumball with them. It was so rewarding to relax and catch up on everyone’s news.

I often take photos of people at the table, but the sun was not cooperative. It was shining much too brightly. No one wanted to shut out the sun on a very cold day, so they agreed to pose in another room.

Above are my brother Bob, wife Beth, Mike with niece Julie, and niece Kathie. Gumball posed, too!

Increasingly, I miss parts of conversations in groups because my hearing is fading. I have a story to repeat, but it has holes in it. Kathie and son Max flew to Texas for a few days to be with her late husband’s family. Someone (hole one) ordered two boxes of snowballs for someone else (hole two). Yes! Snowballs!! It really doesn’t matter who was involved. Children in that part of Texas don’t have snow, or certainly not enough to make snowballs. In the evening, when the temperature had cooled off, they opened the snowballs and began throwing them at each other. It didn’t last very long, because the balls were very hard, perhaps hurtfully so. Waiting a bit, they really let loose and had a rousing snowball fight. The idea of buying balls of snow tickled my fancy. They bought an experience that is not normal for that area. What fun!

We’ve now texted each other, so I know all have safely returned home.

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.