England 40 Years Ago — Christmas 1981, Part 1

We flew around Munchen (Munich), landed at Nurnburg, then back to Munich when the runway was cleared of snow. A bus took us from the plane to the airport where we met the patiently waiting Armin. (Armin H was an exchange student at Southwestern when we were in school. He visited us two or three times in New York. He married three and a half years ago, and this was the first time we’d met Ingrid. In the original letter, I inserted umlauts with a pen.)

After settling in at the guest house (the Mill) built on a large stream, we ate at Armin’s. We had Leberkas, dill pickles, and sweet mustard. What a treat! Can’t get good pickles in England nor that kind of mustard. Leberkas, pronounced “lay ber case” translates as “meat cheese”, but is in reality a special meat loaf put together by the butcher and heated at home. It looks something like bologna.

The train station was close to our inn. We walked, took a train into Munich, and saw the center of town where there were many stalls selling Christmas ornaments. All along the streets were stalls selling hot dogs and sausages, others with fruits, and others with cookies and breads. Took a bus to the airport and picked up our rented Mercedes that we’d insisted be fitted with snow tires.

The weather was marvelous. We arrived in snow, left in snow, and it snowed every day but one while we were there! It is unusual for them to have it so early. Meanwhile, England had snow just before Christmas, and we came home to find it still on the ground. Snowed again the day after we got home.

Germans love gadgets as much as I do. In our hotel bathroom was a motorized toilet! Truly! Lisa came from her room all bug-eyed saying hers sounded like it was going to take off.

A sobering experience we were glad to have behind us was the visit to Dachou concentration camp. It’s not something one wishes to see, but should see when in the area.

After that bleak place we toured a Baroque palace that is as elegant as Windsor and Hampton Court. They didn’t have Grinling Gibbons, though.

Ingrid served us soup with liver dumplings, sausages, pickles, sweet mustard, Armin’s potato salad, breads and cheeses, and marakuja ice cream. I may not have spelled that fruit correctly; it’s new from Brazil.

Sunday we got up at 5:45, ate Stollen in our room, and set out for Regensburg. We arrived for the tail end of one service, hearing an Advent hymn and organ postlude, and sat through the 9 AM service with three choirs. Ingrid told us later that the famous choir is touring Germany at the moment. It’s hard to believe the sounds we heard could be improved upon.

We learned that the “coffee hour” can be from 3 – 5 depending on what time lunch was eaten. We had coffee with Ingrid and Armin, sampling two kinds of Stollen from the best bakery in Munich and a lovely assortment of small Christmas cookies – Lebkuchen, Zimmstern, and others.

We tried pictures of some of the houses in Ismaning where we stayed. It’s a little town slightly beyond the suburbs of Munich. Many houses have pictures or decorative scroll work painted on the outer walls, something typical of Bavarian homes.

$ learned how to unlock and open the doors of our rooms at the inn, taking every opportunity to run wild in the hall. Consequently, we often took walks whenever we were at home base, despite the extreme cold. We particularly enjoyed all the little walkways skirting the streams running through town.

When I told Armin I’d found my dream house, he queried, “Here???” It is built right over the stream! The living room and balcony are over water at a point where the stream gurgles softly.

Blessed Christmas 2021

Every year we have gone to church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We’ve also had a special dinner at home on the 25^th except for the year we were in Germany. This year plans were made early for niece Kathie and son Max to join us. COVID intervened, as both tested positive. She wrote us that they went to church on line, looked at the gifts in their stockings and celebrated the song, “Go Tell it on the Mountain”. They packed up their lunch, camp chairs, presents, and their porch snowman without arms, and drove to the mountains. There they sat beside a pretend fire ring and celebrated in the warm air (65F/ 18.8C). You know they will remember this Christmas the rest of their lives. I love their indomitable spirit of faith and hope.

A week ago we overheard neighbor Shawn say they would not be with family, so we pressed them to celebrate with us. Our phones had been silenced for church, so we missed the text that they were invited at the last minute to be with their son. She wrote, “I’m so sorry.”

My reply came easily from the heart, “Don’t be sorry since this must be an answer to prayer! We’ll be joyful instead.”

As our pastor taught me, you don’t promise to pray for people, you do it that instant. I wrote a quick prayer and sent it to her. I tell you, this kind of thing makes life much more exciting! You get God in the middle of a situation, and you never know what joy will come your way. We didn’t think Shawn, Bob, and Logan would be eating with us. John, John $pencer, David, and I were hungry, so we decided to go ahead and eat the main part of the meal. If they came later, we would sit with them and chat while they ate. Perfect! They texted they were on their way before the food was cold. We would eat Shawn’s sweet potato casserole and our salad after they joined us.

God doesn’t do things in a stingy manner. Neighbor Joyce called. We knew her dinner guest was having trouble getting here, and Joyce let us know the woman cancelled. Would she join us? Yes! She would! We all sat down together and ate leisurely. We had a full table of the best neighbors in the world.

Son John $ took a video of the flaming Christmas pudding. Most of us tasted it, but everyone had a piece of the delicious pumpkin pie Shawn had made.

Shawn wondered if anyone would be willing to go for a walk. We all knew it was the best thing to do after a heavy meal. John was excused, because he was loading the dishwasher and cleaning the pots and pans. Only Logan had wheels, his scooter, which I think was new to him last year. David expressed interest in trying it, and Logan graciously shared it. I told Logan that was the greatest gift he could have given David. Later David said he was sorry he hadn’t thanked Logan properly before they went home. He was thrilled with his time on the scooter.

Joyce had expected her daughter to spend half a week here, but she tested positive for COVID and couldn’t come. Her new plan was to share Christmas with a friend who would also be alone. As you read, that bombed, too. They did have their festive dinner the following day. Our Christmas was not what any of us thought it would be, but I think it worked out beautifully for everyone. Put God in the director’s seat, and you could be in for a wild and wonderful ride!

Christmas blessings to all of you. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving all people, especially those who read this post. You sent us Jesus — Emmanuel, God with us. Help us respond to your eternal love and your longing to be in a relationship with us. God, bless us all. Amen.

Hearing Christmas

After getting hearing aids a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to the sounds of Christmas – recorded carols resounding throughout the house as I cooked and John decorated. I wanted to hear the organ and congregational singing at church in a clearer dimension. What I got was a good laugh at myself.

COVID numbers went up in Asheville, so our church requested that everyone wear masks again. It was PAINFUL! The hearing aids protested at sharing ear space with the mask. Whipping the cheap glasses on and off the same area rubbed my ear raw. I hid in the balcony for several weeks to avoid wearing a mask. The organist and recording techs up there were also bare-faced. It was a happy place until it was decreed that the choir would be in that space and required to be masked.

I decided not to go to church on Christmas Day. That would have caused consternation in the family, so I searched for another solution. Giving up either seeing or hearing was the answer. I left the hearing aids in their charger and went to church.

After the service, I sat outside the sanctuary waiting while John and David rehearsed with the choir. Pastor Gillespie, the one who preached that day, sat down and chatted for a minute. He lost me when he changed the subject. I heard him say, “How are you doing with the Kyries?”

The Kyrie (pronounced keer-ree-aye) is a part of liturgical worship – Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. I didn’t think he knew I had been a church organist and would know the Kyrie. He must have seen the confusion on my face. He asked the question again, this time flapping his hands near his ears. Finally I realized he must be asking, “How are you doing with the hearing aids?”

Santa Claus Came

Santa came to our house early in the morning, not in the wee hours. It was 5:27. Know what? Santa was not wearing a red suit with a matching hat. She wore a nightgown!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve, going to the candlelight service at church and coming home to have German cookies and eggnog. We sat at the table chatting until late. I should have remembered the little gifts I’d bought, because we didn’t exchange presents this year. I blithely went to bed without thinking of the empty stockings in front of the fireplace. No one was up when I woke at 5:27, so I put the candy in the stockings, along with a toothbrush to stop the damage the candy might do. (My dad was a dentist.)

Everything was ready for Christmas Day. I had taken a photo of the elk neighbor Bob made for their yard. The first time Sadie saw it, she barked fiercely. This day she paid it no attention, preferring to sniff the ground.

John finished decorating the tree, using only a portion of our ornaments. There were ones made by grandsons David and Nathaniel when they were children, one created by Logan, Chrismons I made years ago, some made by others, and some bought at a Christmas market in Munich. Many good years were represented on that tree.

Our tree with the one gift I wrapped this year.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Trees

Daughter Lise wanted to know about Christmas trees I had as a child. I think we had a small cedar tree every year. I presume Dad brought it in the house, whether he cut it down on the farm or bought it, I don’t know. Mom must have decorated it by herself. As soon as brother Bob and I showed the tiniest interest, she handed the job over to us. I’m sure we enjoyed it much more than she did. They never had a Christmas tree after we grew up, being happy to enjoy those of others.

Our trees were on the small side, not impressive in any dimension. The lights were large bulbs that could have easily ignited a dry tree, so we didn’t leave them on for long. We had an average assortment of glass ornaments and aluminum roping. Tinsel, which we called icicles, gave the finishing touch that added glitter and a bit of movement as you walked by. I don’t remember our breaking any of the decorations, so we must have handled them with extreme care. I loved some flimsy cardboard houses with holes in the back for inserting tree lights. They were magical to me at the time.

Neighbor Tom (Bob’s age, a teen then) brought us the most unusual tree ever. He was out hunting on his family farm and spotted a perfect tree for us. He was far from tools to cut it down, so he shot the base a number of times with his gun. I think he apologized for the ragged appearance of the trunk, but we loved it and told the story ever after. I thank you again, Tom. That was a marvelous tree, brought to us with lots of love.

Back in the 50’s we put up our tree fairly early in December and always took it down before New Year’s Day. I think that was the standard Southern procedure. John was horrified, knowing a proper tree should remain at attention until Epiphany, January 6. He always lived on a last-minute schedule, so he went out for our first tree in 1964, two or three days before Christmas. We were living in a fourth-floor walk-up in Queens at the time. Only the most pitiful specimens were left. We had been married half a year, so it didn’t make a bit of difference, because we looked at it with eyes of love. I realized the kind of tree was vastly different from the bushy ones I had as a child. I never saw another fat Christmas tree again. I will hear you when you snicker at seeing a photo of our first tree.

John became a master decorator as the years went on. Below is the tree we had in 2019

John and David on Christmas morning 2019

Serious Logan

I am very proud to report that neighbor Logan knows when to be serious. He is full of fun and sometimes mischief, but when it counts, he is totally in control. John coached him a few times for reading a scripture lesson in church. John, David, and I went to the service of lessons and carols to see him. He did a wonderful job. He had a good pace, read with feeling, and pronounced words clearly. We were far back in the church, so the camera zoomed to get these shots.

We were blessed by being there. The choir was excellent, and the large bell choir had wonderful arrangements. The Bible readings were the standard ones that we need to hear over and over. Between the readings were musical selections that enhanced the impact of God’s saving grace, sending his son to live among us. What a marvel!

After the service, we asked Logan to come over for eggs. We were given several dozen and wanted to share with his family. Logan said he needed to go home to take a shower, but I held out my phone with the Set game of the day on it. I knew Logan could work the game in less than three minutes, so the fault was mine for luring him to play. Normally he and grandson David are fantastic. Not so that time! Logan couldn’t find the sixth set. David looked at it with him, and I couldn’t resist taking photos of pure concentration.

I mentioned Logan’s being mischievous. Just a few days ago I asked him the name of a boy he has played with. I don’t know what clues he gave that he was teasing, whether it was the tilt of his head, the glint in his eye, or a change in tone. He told me the boy’s name was something like Jimmy Billy Bob Jumpus. I had to laugh. How could he think up something outlandish so quickly? That’s the imp in the neighborhood that we all love so dearly.

End of Lise’s Visit

Fun activities continued at the end of daughter Lise’s visit. Former neighbors Connie and Marla met us at Doughboys Pizza. We enjoyed talking until the place closed for the evening.

We also met for lunch on Marla’s day off. To extend our time, we came home to chat. Sadie sensed that Marla is a dog-lover, so they had their private time together.

Lise and I walked to the creek only on days we didn’t have Sadie with us. She took a selfie and the picture that I call my poodle portrait.

Twice Lise lured me to the water’s edge, down a rocky embankment. She ventured there when she lost a lot of weight, and she continued to enjoy her new freedom of movement. It was exhilarating to share the creek-side experience with her, especially the sound of rushing water. She took a video of me at creek level.

Anne at the creek

A sleep photo seems appropriate for the end of her visit. Lise loved having her head rubbed as she went to sleep. Grandson David could do that and catch up with messages on his phone. And Sadie? She was as happy as could be, curled up between two people she adores.

Lise flew back to Denmark and is now in quarantine after being exposed to the COVID virus at her return. This could be the quietest Christmas season of her life. At least most of the renovations of her flat have been completed, including the installation of the kitchen countertop and a working sink. She will have a Christmas tree delivered to her door, as well as all the food she needs. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Lise!

First Christmasy photo this year – neighbor Logan (11) before going to a school dance.

England 40 Years Ago — December 14, 1981

We had quite a snow storm on the 8^th of December. First we heard reports on the radio that driving was hazardous north of London. When we left for school, there was rain and sleet; by the time I got back up the downs, snow was settling (sticking) on the grass. An hour later a friend arrived for coffee, having passed many cars stranded on the big highway. There must have been two inches on the ground before it stopped at 1 and the sun came out.

Our half of the house has the green door on the right.

Sanding lorries were out fairly quickly so that I didn’t run into any difficulties getting the girls from school. The signs on the trucks read: “Gritting in progress.”

John had gotten to work on time, but his two Norwegian co-workers came in at noon because of frozen switches. John left work a little early, and we were able to go to the home group Bible study that met in a house on Reigate Hill.

$ has been admiring the Christmas trees in Reigate High Street and is trying to say the words. After John put ours in the living room, we led $ in. He drew in his breath, ran toward the tree and reaching out his hand said, “Christmas tree!” Immediately withdrawing his hand, he said “No!” Poor thing was anticipating our reaction to his reach.

Friday it was snowing hard at 4 a.m. – my instinct woke me to see it! John walked to the station, calling on the phone to say the roads were clear. We set out at 8 in mush. I would have turned back except I’d finally gotten an appointment to have my hair cut and didn’t want to risk going to Germany with a mop on top of my head. I went into Micklefield with Kate, telling Miss Kinman and Mrs. Smith that I’d run an errand in Redhill and come back for her. I wouldn’t attempt the hill at Dunottar. There was a cancellation at the beauty shop, and Lisa had her hair trimmed. We ran to Bejam’s and Boots before heading back to get Kate in Reigate.

Things went well until we were nearing the center of town. We crept. I turned down the school road, went in for Kate, waited for her to get her things together, drove up one back street and got into the queue on the hill one car ahead of my former place! I was so thankful to get home without incident. The trip took 4.5 hours!

$ liked the snow. The girls made a small snowman, and I saw $ talking to it. First he said, “Hey-o. Hey-o.” When there was no answer, he threatened it, saying, “Snow, I’m gonna punch you in the nose if you don’t answer.”

By evening the major roads were well salted, and we sailed to Redhill with no problem. Penny and Andy had us for dinner, introducing us to a couple (man and wife) as Andy and Mike. It took a while to discover which was which. Andy was short for Andrea. She’s in banking and he in nuclear energy.

Saturday night we went to the neighbors in the other half of our house for dinner. Catherine and Philippa had dinner at our house and spent the night, so our girls were entertained while we were out. Jennifer said they don’t entertain very often and they had to invite all those they “owed.” They had 30!!! We had a chance to talk to some of those we’d met at the party they gave to introduce us around, and we met the other two couples who share the first part of the driveway. I was delighted to find out that Charles H had gone to King’s at Cambridge and used to be a reader at services! He also mentioned that his father was a vestryman at Hampton Court Royal Chapel, so he’d worshiped there many times, also.

Jennifer served a cheese dip with crackers, chili con carne (which was not spicy hot), rice, salad, French bread, blackcurrant mousse, treacle tart, meringue cake, and fruit. She served the food in the kitchen, and we sat in the living room to eat. John and several others sat on the floor because all the chairs were taken. It was great fun.

The forecast for Sunday was “grim.” It was grey all day, but nothing fell until late afternoon. We had a small fright, though, when we ran water into a hand basin in the downstairs bathroom, and it didn’t run out. As some of you remember, the drain pipes in the south of England are usually on the outsides of the buildings. We tried boiling water, but the drain was still frozen. Finally I poured hot water into the drain area outside, and the water ran out. We boiled water in all our pots and went running around pouring it down all the drains. I think it had been about 18 degrees in the night. No more trouble.

During the day it became warmer and began to snow about 3 p.m. The wind was fierce – gale force in some places. That’s when Philippa and Kate agreed to join me for a walk to the pond! We had a great time struggling to walk against the wind. My glasses were so encrusted with snow that I could hardly see. We were rewarded. Got to walk on the pond! There were others there, one with ice skates gliding around. Kate had no fear walking on the ice, but Philippa didn’t want to try it. When I walked out on it, she agreed to follow, but wasn’t comfortable. I was glad we did it, because it doesn’t happen often.

The weather was so extreme that John and I made rash statements about no one getting to school the next day. We couldn’t have known that the temperature would continue to rise and that it would rain most of the night. We were all sure we’d be marooned at home today. It was slippery getting out of our drive, but beyond that it wasn’t bad. The lights kept flickering until we prepared the kitchen fireplace and got out candles, but the electricity never went off.

I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced three major snow storms in less than a week. It was fun while it lasted, but now we’re hoping for less severe weather so we can get to Germany and back.

Merry Christmas! I probably won’t be writing until the new year.

A Very Short Visit

Niece Chrissie and husband Chris spent 1 ¾ days with us, and we enjoyed every moment. Daughter Lise hadn’t seen her cousins since they were together in Lisbon a few years ago. Here they are on a mountain overlook.

They brought a very special Christmas gift, Chris’ ornament for 2021, a hockey player. He designs and makes the ornaments based on some event from the current year. I forgot to ask if there was a story connected to this one.

There was one of his older ornaments hanging from our mantel. I enjoyed watching Chris give it a tune-up, gently bending the wires to restore it or give it a slightly different shape. It’s not often you see an artist revisit his work. John hadn’t started decorating for Christmas, so the rest of the ornaments were still packed away.

Chris also said the angel on the mantel is unique. After making ours, he changed the way he finished the wings. It’s exciting to know we have this one-of-a-kind piece. I found I had the angel backward when I took the photo. Chris’ blog is here if you’d like to see more, including the angel facing the correct way.

We ate barbecue at Butts on the Creek, a restaurant with a lovely view of the water. This is upstream from the point where John and I see it on our morning walk.

Going to Cataloochee Valley to see elk is a popular tourist activity. Sometimes the animals are not in sight at all, but we were treated to quite a show. We spotted the herd and stopped the car. Chrissie was probably taking the photo on the left from her side of the car, and I snapped one of a buck approaching on my side.

Chris caught the elk passing John’s window, followed by one of me as I focused on the animal.

On the way out of the valley, we stopped at an overlook where a stranger took our photo.

Chrissie’s post about their visit is here.

This was a whirlwind visit, but oh! so very special!

England 40 Years Ago — December 6, 1981

When Mrs. Wilson (owner of this house) came for coffee, she asked if we’d celebrated Thanksgiving. She’d seen a cookery programme (English spelling) on TV on which a turkey was done and a discussion of our holiday took place. She laughed and told of one Thanksgiving she and her husband spent in the US on business. Mr. Wilson accepted two invitations that day, one for lunch and one for dinner. When she heard what he’d done, she was aghast, knowing our Thanksgiving equals their Christmas Day feast. The lunch was with friends who excused them from over eating, but they partook of both.

She expounded on the “trimmings” they have with turkey for Christmas dinner here. One must have slices of ham, bacon rolls and chipolata sausages. Creamed onions, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, bread sauce, and individual mincemeat tarts are also obligatory. I think our Thanksgiving meal is easier!

Kate was home two days in a row feeling sick. (I’ve learned to be careful in the use of that word. English people mean “throwing up” for “sick”. The word for not feeling well is “ill.”) Kate would turn white and moan, but nothing happened. Jennifer said Catherine had felt that way last weekend, even feeling giddy and light-headed. Must be a weird bug.

Only in England – playing Christmas carols and making holiday cookies, we could look at fresh roses from our garden we’d put on the counter! Catherine, Lisa and Kate helped me make Norwegian Christmas cookies, Berlinerkranser.

John was able to buy a Christmas tree cut this past week! The one we had last year was miserable, needles falling before it was brought into the house. This one has to last longer because we’ll put it up before we fly to Germany on the 17^th. We plan to return on Boxing Day (Dec. 26), meeting John’s parents at the airport.

Lisa went to a friend’s birthday party – a dinner from 6 – 9 p.m. She said they had a lovely fried chicken dinner and they played some marvelously different games. The house is an old Victorian mansion divided into three homes, but the rooms are tremendously large. Lise’s friend has her room on the 4^th floor.

Today we went to church at St. Paul’s, the first time I’ve been there since the Royal Wedding, though the others went once before. It was a lovely service with a great sermon. The preacher said the second Sunday in Advent is Bible Sunday; that must be the Anglican version. John made it through the whole service with $ in the back of the church, though the little one did not fall asleep this time. I could never manage $ like his father does. On the other hand, I doubt John would put up with him in the supermarket!

John kindly dropped me off at the Tower of London so that I could see the crown jewels, only it was closed. This year the Tower and the Jewel House will not be open from November to March. Luckily he hadn’t disappeared and we were able to make other plans. We went to the Zoo instead.

John $ went to that zoo with the Brownworths last summer, but he didn’t tell us much about it. Meanwhile he’s learned many names of animals from books and got quite excited at seeing the giraffes and monkeys. We nearly keeled over laughing when he imitated the sounds of the frisky sea lions. Other people looked at us and couldn’t stop grinning.

[There were no photos to go with this letter, probably, because I knew we’d be traveling to interesting places later in the month.]