Birthday

My 77^th birthday was one of the most delightful ever. First, there was the surprise party in New York with relatives and friends of long standing (not calling them old). Between that and my real birthday, I received lots of lovely cards, e-greetings, and phone calls. I was humbled by all the attention from around the world.

After church, I was given a fun story to write. Surely that counts as a gift. Ed and his wife were flying to Texas the next day to spend Christmas with relatives. Did he have a big family? Oh! My! Yes! He had 35 first cousins!! Those 35 were descended from 11 children, so Ed began life with 10 aunts and uncles. John and I wanted to know if he knew everyone’s name. You could see the wheels turning, so I suspect he could pull those names out, given time. He explained that every family member has a number. His dad was the seventh child, and Ed was his firstborn, so Ed’s number is 71. I think that is brilliant. If you know the number of the person you are talking to, you know exactly where s/he belongs in the family tree.

Rose and son John $pencer met us to go to a Thai restaurant north of Asheville. I last had Thai food three or four years ago, so I was excited about it. We shared an appetizer – spring rolls, crab Rangoon, and dumplings. John and grandson David chose orange sesame chicken, and Rose had a tofu dish. It didn’t matter what $ ordered, because he chose the hot version and probably couldn’t taste anything because of the searing heat. He turned all shades of red, while insisting he loved his food. I had pineapple curry with salmon that was only mildly spicy.

I asked $ to take a selfie of us, but we didn’t all fit in. $ overheard a family conversation at the next table, so when one of them offered to take a photo of all of us, he asked, “Are you also celebrating a birthday?” They were. It was a young woman on the far side of their table, so we waved and called greetings to each other.

At home, I quickly looked at messages. Having had the phone silenced during church and dinner, I was behind. Neighbor Shawn texted to ask if they could come over in the evening, and neighbor Marla said she and her mother would like to bring something to our house. That was the beginning of the best impromptu birthday party. Connie and Marla arrived wearing festive Santa hats.

Sadie was enthralled when Logan arrived. Their play was so active that both boy and dog were blurred in the photo. Shawn, our son $, and Bob were in the background.

I liked the picture of everyone at the table after we devoured the cake $ bought. It was marvelous to have this congenial group together. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better celebration.

Rose, John $, Connie, Marla, David, Shawn, Logan, Bob, and John

Stony Brook Family and Friends

Sister Barbara can turn any space into a festive party venue. We had a light supper in the living room after church and breakfast the next day in the sun-filled dining room.

We walked on Main Street, the place where I used to walk when we lived in Stony Brook. I got a quick photo at the millpond, but it was much too cold to linger. We walked back to the car as quickly as possible to thaw our faces.

David, Barbara, and John at the millpond

Our nieces and nephew visited in the afternoon. It was amazing how much great nephew Thomas had grown. His little brother Ellie is now a year old, and he was a mere infant the last time I saw him. The boys played together nicely while the rest of us chatted.

I liked the photo of Tonja and Catherine ( sisters-in-law) with Ellie.

Barbara served dinner for twelve, making it seem as easy as putting out snacks. It was delightful to visit with old friends from church. Resident Sophie and her niece Sara expedited the serving and cleaning up.

My birthday was the last thing on my mind. I put off thinking about it until this trip was over. It was a total surprise when Barbara came in with two pies, one headed my way with candles blazing. I have good breath control but no aim to speak of. It took both a huff and a puff to get the symbolic candles out. Who knew you needed to practice candle-blowing? I should be in good form Sunday when I turn 77. There should be no hoopla, although John always buys a luscious chocolate cake to celebrate. I like things so low-key that they almost fall off the piano.

Barbara, Sophie, Judy, Pat, Thom, David, Al, Karen, Anne, Ruth, and John

We stopped in New Jersey to see daughter Kate on our way to North Carolina. She was called into work early, so we talked with her as she set up her check-out area. It was fun to see her scan groceries and pack them efficiently.

We had a pleasant drive back to North Carolina, a trip of 16.5 hours. Now, on to Christmas!

A Pre-Christmas Day in New York

Even the drive into Manhattan was exciting, but I’ll not share the distant photos or the shots of buildings that are ho-hum to many. We posed in the entrance of St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue – grandson David, John, sister Barbara, Sophie, brother Thom, and Sara. Sophie lives in Barbara’s and Thom’s home, and her cousin Sara is visiting for the Christmas break. This was Sara’s first visit to New York.

We had pews near the front for the noon service of lessons and carols.

From my seat, I took a photo of the front of the church. The huge Advent wreath was prominent. I wanted to show the creche in the center, too.

It’s the norm for the choir to have a quick rehearsal just before the service, and we’re often early enough to hear it. John immediately noticed that only the men were practicing. He had a feeling the boys were not going to sing, even though they were on the schedule to be there. Sure enough, the rector announced that because of the danger of ice falling, the boys were not allowed to leave their residence a few blocks away. He said there was heightened awareness of danger because a woman had been killed by falling debris only a few days before. Ice from sleet the night before was the present danger. As the service progressed, we became aware of how that affected what we heard. The twelve men would normally have sung the bass, tenor, and counter tenor (alto) lines. Boys always sing the top line. Five of the men shifted to share the soprano and alto lines, parts they had not rehearsed before. The director stood with them and was singing, something he normally would not do. The choir sounded as if they had intended to sing the music that way all along. We were totally impressed with their mastery of this quick change.

As the service ended, John looked back and said, “You won’t believe how many people are here. The church is full.” It’s amazing that so many came at noon on a Wednesday.

We approached the tree at Rockefeller Center from the back.

I took David’s face with the trunk of the tree to show how large the tree was. Santa Claus was skating at the ice rink in front of the tree. The skaters and crowds were enjoying him.

Can you find Santa skating on the right?

We walked around to the side where I took a shot of the tree that included the waterfall behind the golden statue. You might have to use imagination to see that.

I pushed myself to keep up the New York pace of walking. People appeared to be just walking, and I was almost running. I think I kept my tongue inside my mouth, but a dog would have been panting! There were people from many nations, identifiable by appearance and/or language.

One mini-conversation in English made me laugh. A man was loudly telling his companion, “I saw Bill there. He was in my class in school.”

The woman rolled her eyes outrageously and said softly and clearly, “Shut up!”

Barbara had wanted us to eat at a special restaurant where the wait staff sing to you at your table. They are actors hoping to land a part in a musical. The line to get in was too long, so John drove us to Queens to eat. Sophie,with her musical laugh, and Sara, with her beaming smile, were happy to experience a meal at a New York diner.

As we finished eating, a snow squall worked its magic, turning everything white. Thom, Barbara, and David posed with the snow before getting in the car.

Traffic was very heavy on the way out. We had five minutes to spare before the Advent service at our old church in Setauket. Friend Ruth had all the Chrismons laid out, and Thom and Liann shared the symbolism of the ornaments. Everyone participated in hanging them on the trees. That is instant decorating! How wonderful it was to see our former church family there!

I think we were gone about 12 hours, having a marvelous day with people we love.

Advent 3

The third Sunday of Advent has the theme of joy. We had a joyous day, starting with our service of lessons and carols. John and grandson David sang in the choir for both services. I took a photo from my seat, though it’s not a good one. If I look closely, I can see my men in the back row, David wedged under the eave on the left and John with the red eternal candle appearing to sit on his head on the right.

I was too far back to get a good shot of the chancel, though it does show how crowded the front was. In the center was a teen-aged angel holding a toddler cherub. Mary was a 14-year-old with a live baby, her cousin I think. The wise men and shepherds were sitting on the floor, hidden by the music stands of the orchestra. Also in front were the stands for the bell choir. Despite the crowded conditions, bell ringers moved freely from the congregation and choir to their stands. Maybe the children had angelic assistance to get to the chancel. The readers were in the back, reverently reading the Scripture on which the music was based. I can see the pianist on the far left and the director with his back to us.

What do choir members do when they are off-duty? They sing, of course. There was a pot-luck dinner for the musicians and readers at a member’s home. After we ate, we were invited to the living room to sing carols and Christmas songs. Pianist Lula and director Kevin were sitting on either side of the hanging wreath. I believe Kevin teaches guitar at the college level, so he was able to accompany us on any song we chose. Several people used their phones to call up all the words. It was a fun time for all.

For punsters: As we were leaving, David put COKES on the stairs while he fetched his sweater. The hostess asked if he were getting COATS, and we said yes, and that we would COAX him to leave.

Death and Destruction on the Deck

This is the season of peace and goodwill, but our deck did not reflect that. I flicked open the curtains and saw a dove in a pool of blood. We think it hit the house while we were walking. Other birds kept eating, not mourning for the dove at all. John removed the body, burying it before dog Sadie could get it. I swabbed the deck with a watering can, floating the blood over the edge by pouring water behind it. The wind will eventually remove the few scattered feathers.

A squirrel knocked over a flower pot in his attempt to get to the feeder. He sat there, calmly chewing, as if nothing were amiss. His body language said, “You can’t prove I made this mess, but I’ll help you clean it up.”

Decorating for Christmas

John has already spent days decorating our house for Christmas. We have used the holiday dishes and drunk from the Christmas mugs. The angel collection is displayed all around the house, and the manger scene is on the front lawn. Yesterday we woke to snow on the ground and clear skies above. It was a lovely Carolina snow, leaving everything but the roads covered in white.

John, grandson David, son John $pencer, and friend Rose bought the tree. We learned the hard way that you have to get your tree early in this area. Today they drove past two tree farms that have already closed for the season. I’ll bet the locals would die laughing to find out that it’s not rare for New Yorkers to buy a tree on Christmas Eve. I really appreciated Rose’s taking a photo and sending it to me before they got home.

For the first time in 55 years, John set up the tree the same day he brought it home. It was marvelous having so many willing hands to help.

Rose, John $, David, and John. Oh! The rear end of dog Sadie, too!

Rose saw the Christmas alphabet book and sat down to look at it. My childhood neighbor, Miss Lesta, made it for our daughters in 1973. The book was a shop catalog for cards, and she meticulously cut out pictures for each letter of the alphabet. Our children loved it, and so did our grandsons. Neighbor Logan was the third generation to read it. You can feel the love rising from every page.

John $ and Rose look at the Christmas alphabet book.

M is for Music like carols so sweet That rang out at Midnight the Christ Child to greet.

The letter “M” from the Christmas alphabet book

Lessons and Carols with Logan

Neighbor Shawn told us that her son Logan (9) was reading one of the lessons at their program of Lessons and Carols. We were very glad we went, because it was fantastic. Shawn was in the choir, so we saw her singing. The choir was extremely good, as was the bell choir. We were impressed with the music they chose and the way they presented it.

We paid particular attention when Logan was reading. Grandson David was sitting on the aisle, so I asked him to take a photo. I appreciated his willingness to do something he might have been a bit embarrassed to do. In the first shot, you have to know where to look to find this amazing fourth-grader in the big church. I’m fairly sure he was the youngest person involved in the service.

David zoomed in and got the best shot he could. The microphone covered most of Logan’s face, but you can see his feet on the stand they put there for him. After he read, he returned to the front pew on the left. I found out later that he had a tablet to play with. We were impressed that he didn’t fidget or wiggle during the long presentation. What a boy!

The congregation was invited for snacks and desserts in the gym. I’m glad they had small plates, because I could have pigged out and eaten a week’s worth of calories in one sitting. One of Shawn’s friends from the choir joined us and offered to take a photo that included me. I preferred the shot without me, but I’m including this to show I can survive being on the lens side of the camera.

Shawn let Logan ride home with us. He sat in the back with David and chattered about video games the whole way. I hadn’t a clue, but David knew what he was talking about.

Last of Lise’s Visit

Neighbors Shawn and Bob invited us for dessert the night before daughter Lise left. Shawn and Lise have a special bond; they share the same birthday and have always enjoyed each other. Logan (9) had snuggled next to his mother, playing with a tablet.

David was in dog heaven, having his hands on two of their dogs as Bob watched in the background.

Of all the homes Lise has seen in Denmark, she said few had a bathtub. She intended to soak in our tub, but didn’t get to it until her last night. Shawn gave her a bath bomb to make it extra special.

This was the last photo I took of Lise. We were on the way to Charlotte and dropped Rose and son John $pencer off to pick up her car. The girls were laughing about Lise’s stuffed animal. Instead of T-Rex, she named him T-Red. After she got home, Lise texted that T-Red had a seat to himself from Charlotte to London.

We packed a lot into Lise’s two-week visit, giving us many memories to savor.

Waterfalls with Lise

Daughter Lise’s penultimate day saw us chasing waterfalls. We planned to go to Soco Falls until son John $pencer mentioned Mingo Falls. It was in the same vicinity, and none of us had seen it. According to a guidebook, there were 158 steps to the falls, which made me pause. As it turned out, there were sturdy railings on both sides, making it easy. We thought it well worth the climb. We stood on the bridge over the stream taking photos.

John, Lise, and David climbed down to the stream on the other side of the bridge. The views were most satisfying.

My favorite photo was the one Lise took, a selfie plus three.

I had promised Lise a favorite meal, so we went home for lunch before going out again. We went to Sunburst Falls, my favorite close to home. We looked at the water from both sides of the bridge and were about to leave when Lise said she wished she had gone out on the rocks with David. It wasn’t dark yet, and I urged her to go. David came back to us, was pleased she wanted to go, and went back with her. I took the first shot without zooming in.

The close-up shows their faces.

The next picture shows Lise presenting the falls with a grand gesture. Of course, the zoom eliminated the falls.

On the way back to the car, David broke off an ice saber and let Lise brandish it.

Our day had been thoroughly satisfying. It was fun to share tales of our adventures with $ and Rose.