Blogging as a Life Analogy or Late-Catch-up Christmas Post

Sitting here on the 1st of January, I find myself with a handful of photos that semi-document our month of December. Here are some highlights: Written in reverse chronological order?


Happy New Year:
Craig and Emily in their excitement to ring in the New Year with our annual pot/pan clanging in the front yard, went a bit overboard and broke a wooden spoon and a plastic pasta spoon - I'm not sure what that bodes for the New Year?


Pink Christmas:
I received a delightful tea towel and "notelets" from Amanda who lives in the UK - I'm afraid the pictures don't do them justice. It was a fun surprise. She has a great website, also check out the Emma Bridgewater site (tea towel artist). Who knows, you may just receive a notelet from me!

Christmas:
Our Christmas was just what Christmas should be - full of surprises, delightful, rest and relaxation, gifts, phone calls, movies, games and family time.


Christmas Eve:
Found us at our annual Janes Family bowling extravaganza! We have been bowling every year - since before we were married (with one exception while in Houston). This became a Janes tradition after their original tradition of sledding was stymied by a few lean snow years when Craig was growing up. We have recently found out that we are the only ones that have continued to spend Christmas Eve bowling :( - but our girls assure us that they will continue the tradition.
We love the duckpin bowling - check it out here. It is mostly an east coast thing - but so worth finding!


Zatinya's:
This is one of our favorite restaurants and it has played host to graduation celebrations, Christmas celebrations, out-of-town company, etc. (Of course Craig also eats an occasional routine working lunch there as well - he generally neglects to notify us of these lunches however.) It is wonderful Eastern Mediterranean food (Turkish, Greek, Lebanese- served Mezze style). MMmmm...

Our major reason to celebrate was Cara's acceptance at her top college choices

Fordham - in NYC
Hofstra in NY
Washington College in MD
Drexel in Philadelphia

Earlier Dec:
Emily had a major role in her school play - she was Miss Broom/Deprava in the comedy May the Farce be With You by David Rogers. It was very funny (a group of evil aliens plan to take over the world). The action takes place at Old McDonald's Farm (a health spa) and the world is saved by the EIEIO (Elite-Idealistic-Earth-Individuals-Organization) a group of superheros. Emily played the stern housekeeper Miss Broom (complete with riding crop) with an amazingly accurate German accent (Craig's mission experiences finally pay off). Her evil alien alter ego was a Southern Bell (think Scarlett O'Hara). I'm always amazed at her ability to mimic accents and voices.

Unfortunately, the school play was the same weekend as her huge Children's Chorus of Washington performances that included a small solo part on Sat/Sun during Ora Filium (we ended up trying to keep everyone happy - and in the end succeeded by making both directors only slightly unhappy). Fortunately she had an understudy for the Sat. matinee.



Her CCW concerts are a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday - the music and settings are fabulous. It is always fun to read the Washington Post reviews of their performances (scroll down to the CCW entry). Sat. was at the National City Christian Church and Sunday with the Thomas Circle Singers at St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

They are in the mail...

Quick family update regarding out Family Christmas Pages - they are in the mail! Note of explanation: last year, instead of exchanging gifts as couples, we decided to send a 2-page "scrapbook" type recap of the year. They are put into sheet protectors and kept in a binder that Cristin provided for us last year.

This year I got to do the color copying, collating and mailing. I loved it for two reasons:

1) I got to see everyones pages first
and
2) I didn't have to actually have my pages ready until
everyone else's had been received :)

One sweet lady at the copy center asked me about the pages, asked to look at them and then came back to ask more logistical questions... perhaps next year there will be another family doing something similar!

The picture is purposefully vague - just enough to get you excited but not enough to ruin it for anyone!

McJanesgiving '07

by Mont, Kristy and just a little Lisa!

Lisa's horror at learning of the "Tree of Life" in the men's showers at the MTC; will never be able to read 1 Nephi again.

McJanesgiving '07 economic impact: Butane prices spike; analysts point to Maggiano's endless creme brulee policy. Recyclable aluminum prices plummet -- supply from Montgomery County, MD triples.

Zola and Bitty Baby? Pure magic.

Maybe it's time TOG got the short nertz stack.

Rhett's restaurant/guest arrival algorithm worked great. Next year's challenge: downstairs shower times for 19 guests.

Really: from 5 to 6 am on Thursday morning, nobody was awake and nothing was being eaten.

The beautiful, thoughtful place cards from Emily, the next Martha Stewart.

Seriously: which one of you girls will marry Drew?

Who can name the 10 airports needed to get everyone there and back.

WinterSuites comes through again -- the guest suite on the ground level was perfect.

McJanesgiving '07 -- the only thing lacking was more time together.

If you ever run out of rolls you can always use York Peppermint Patties to sop up any leftover gravy.

Thank goodness for Cara's two birthday cookie cakes -- we were down to our last 7 pans of dessert items.

Thank goodness we didn't end up with 17 cookie cakes that all said "Happy 7th Birthday".

Magnetic pull of Red Cliffs Mall causes Alicia's GPS to go haywire, nearly becoming the "Drew's suitcase" of McJanesgiving '07

Highlight: the excursion to the Maryland Museum of Art and Rugs. Oh wait -- we never left the house.

How many Monts does it take to screw in a light bulb: Mont shows off his one home handyman skill.

Refuting decades of infant studies, Zola prefers inanimate Bitty Baby over constant human interaction.

No matter where you want to go in the DC area, you can get there by turning right at the Bethesda Barnes & Noble.

One thing missing from all the holiday merriment: no TOG Dance.

Past years: rousing McNeil brothers decathlon. This year: a couple of half-hearted ping pong games and three viewings of the Freaks and Geeks and The Office DVDs.

Note for McJanesgiving '08: the turkey and yams aren't still in the downstairs mini-fridge, let's hope.

Wintersuites math: any Janes + any McNeil + any Lunt/Robb-McGrath/Antonitis = big-time fun.

Yikes, a quick "ketchup" is in order!
The last 6 weeks from A to Z
In alphabetical and not chronological order...


Alicia came home for Thanksgiving - But her visit was too short.

Bob, the mailman, complaining of back strain refuses to deliver
anymore college applications, brochures, or
"Cara, we want you to apply to _________" letters to our home.
Recyclers rejoice.

Hosted Book Group.
(Read the Golden Compass, ah, the controversy...)

Christmas decorations are already up - because we hosted a Cookie Exchange. Craig is in Christmas Heaven - Lisa not so much?!

Cara turns 17!

Quick trip to the Drewes - I'm not sure if I was any help with the new baby,
but I had a great time being there...

Drew and Eliot arrived for Turkey-day sporting new haircuts, both are as entertaining as ever.

Enchanted, the movie.

Friends

Thanksgiving was all about good friends, good food and good fun.

We finally got to see photographic proof than Dave and Jana spent
time in Greece. We are hoping to hire him as our personal tour guide some day!
Finally someone who enjoys talking to Craig about ancient history :)

Heavenly

Ice Cream
Not quite USU, but Penn State and Meyer Dairy do a pretty good job!

Jana's morning runs were an example to us all!

Kim's salad took top honors in the
"We should probably eat something healthy at least once this week"
category.

The Lunt's


"May the Farce be with you" rehearsals take over Emily's life.

We love the McNeils

Nertz

Overeating

Pie

Emily's name cards get her named Queen of Crafts.

Rhett reviewed Cara's papers and gave them his professorial okay.

Sightseeing on the mall (possibly just an excuse to find ourselves near Les Halles)

Tracey and Eliot return to the scene of the crime!
(Engagement '06)

Thanksgiving Top Ten - to follow...




Unbelievably Very Wonderful Vacation-like Week

Xtra Yummy

Zola, Bitty Baby wants to know when
you are going to come back to play.

Top Ten Reasons

Top Ten Reasons
to
Take a Look at this Website

10
You love family
9
You are fascinated by creative people
8
You are interested in family history
7
You are intrigued by genealogists
6
You've got a few extra minutes before the kids kick you off the computer
5
You are always looking for great gift ideas
4
You have an appreciation for other's artistic talents
3
You've already read this far...
2
You want to be inspired

and the
#1 reason
you should check out this website

By now you are totally and completely curious!

The creative drive behind this concept and website is a friend of mine, I've seen the product and I promise you won't be disappointed - they are truly beautiful!

Oh, Baby, Baby! He's Here!

Welcome to the world
Spencer Stephen

Cristin's baby is here and I am so excited because I get to see him tomorrow.
Check her blog for all of the particulars!

Sauerkraut

When preparing for Thanksgiving, you probably have the usual list:

Turkey
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Stuffing
Salads
Yams
Pie

But does your list include sauerkraut?

For all of our friends and family who have shared Thanksgiving Dinner with us you know that we always serve sauerkraut as a side dish - a little unusual I am aware! We have always shared the history of the tradition and talked about the Germans who settled the small town where 4-generations of Craig's family have lived (maybe more?). It was fun to see the following article in today's Deseret News. If you have a minute, take a look and know that you are all invited for sauerkraut and the rest of the traditional Thanksgiving fixings this Thanksgiving!

What makes Providence dinner special? Sauerkraut

also

Sauerkraut (by Wikipedia) for the uninitiated

Black and White

I've been working on a project that involves our family reunion photos - so those photos were the most accessible for this week's SPT. This photo is of Cristin (my sis) and me getting shirts ready for tie-dying. So here we are in black and white. Hope you don't mind Cristin!

Thanks to Alicia who was able to finally get the black and white photo to load.
Hmm, now that she has my name/password maybe she'll do all of my posts!

Comfort Food

Like Lelly, we are finally enjoying cooler weather, and like Lelly, cooler weather often means crock pot meals at our home. In fact, early Sunday morning I got out the crock pot and filled it with the ingredients for a what we call Welcome Stew. This is a recipe from Craig's mom that we often have on the counter when out-of-town company arrives - hence our name for it, Welcome Stew.

Unfortunately when I went to put the lid on the crockpot the handle popped off. I spent the rest of the day using a pair of pliers to take the lid off and on... I looked very chic! Since there isn't anyway to fix the handle I guess I'm in the market for a replacement lid?!

Welcome Stew
1 lb. stew meat
carrots, sliced
celery, sliced
potatoes, peeled, cubed
2 cans tomato soup
1 can water
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Crock pot - high 4 hours

Amounts are variable - use what your family likes, in the proportions they like.
I just fix this one off the top of my head (scary, I know) amazingly it always turns out well!

Great served with homemade bread.

If I Find Another Roll of 37 Cent Stamps...

I just found another almost complete roll of 37 cent stamps!

As a former salesgirl in a gift shop known for its beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry, I truly do have an appreciation for Navajo jewelry, however I'm getting tired of their image in the form of make-up stamps. I finally made it through all of my stray 39 c stamps but now must add TWO to each envelope along with my 37 cent stamps.

Poor Cara, the other day she asked me for stamps for some college applications - she ended up with two 37c and four 2 c stamps on one envelope. I assured her that her application would not be rejected based upon the number of stamps on the envelope. She told me later that she hid them under other papers when she turned them in at the registrars office...

Did you know that during the late 1800's "U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase proposed to authorize postage stamps of some type as a new currency. Much of the public were using stamps as in lieu of change due to a severe shortage of coins. The post office did not like selling stamps for currency and they did not provide refunds for soiled stamps." (Wikipedia)

Who knew?

What is the study of stamps called?
Do you love Wikipedia?

The Other Book Group

My other book group is discussing this book tonight, "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" by Alexandra Fuller. Now that school and after-school activities are in full swing I knew that I would have a better chance of reading it if I listened to it on tape. I loved reading (listening) it. It is a memoir about a girl born in England but raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Malawi. The thing that was most interesting/amazing to me was the fact although we weren't born that far apart (in years) our lives couldn't have been more different.

This is a quote from an interview with Powell's.

"In her 2001 debut, Alexandra Fuller recalled in vivid, often excruciating detail coming of age in Rhodesia as a long civil war raged in neighboring Mozambique and her own country slid down the violent path toward an independent, African Nationalist regime. Dogs astounded readers with its candor, describing from a young girl's point of view a wild landscape of far-reaching beauty and a continent in the throes of a vicious political antagonism she could not yet comprehend.

Narrating from within her own family's constant struggle for survival, Fuller brilliantly assimilated the dangers of war (land mines planted on the road to the local store, guerillas camping in the nearby hills) into the relentless domestic tumult around her, so that readers could hardly distinguish between the two. The Boston Globe, echoing the opinion of critics and readers around the world, marveled, "The extremely personal and unguarded understatement of this memoir is far more powerful than any sociopolitical analysis or apologist interpretation could hope to be."

And to think at the same time/age I was worried about whether my mom would be late picking me up from piano lessons or if I would be able to find a seat on the bus for both me and my french horn. The language is a little "earthy"(?) perhaps more so because I was listening to it. The book was extremely engaging and exposed me to a time and place that I have very little knowledge of. Unfortunately I can't go to the book group discussion :(

Read any good memoirs lately?

Happy Birthday Wishes!

What was the best thing that happened in 1935?

Monopoly hit the stores
Year Elvis Presley was born

Date of first Penguin paperback publication
Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Pacific
Date of first Orange Bowl

WPA was created
Average new car price $625.00
Scrooge, the film opened in U.S.

Babe Ruth hit his 714th home run
Omaha was the Kentucky Derby champion
Radio program Fibber McGee and Molly debuted
Nylon was discovered

Hope your birthday is as wonderful as you are!
Love to you from all of us!

Falling into Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season and although the calendar unofficially says it is fall and the weather here has turned a little cooler - there aren't any other signs. This is the view from our deck - I guess I will label it "before" and in a few weeks I'll post the "after". The change is spectacular. The inside decorations are slowly making an appearance. I love this painted tin bucket - this time of year it resides next to the fireplace. I'll let e document the rest of the decorations as they appear!


The rug in our sunroom (which looks out on the same view as the deck) is a year-round expression of my love for autumn.

What time is it?

I'm not a morning person, and I'll be honest, 4:45 am is EARLY, but when the radio turns on I resist the urge to press the snooze button or pull the blanket over my head. Why, because I'm teaching seminary again! I began my third week this morning and I am truly grateful for the opportunity. A friend asked me how/why I do it and my response was - "If I have a group of high school students willing to meet me at 6 am to study the scriptures, how can I not be there to teach them?" My students are great, the lessons of the Old Testament are wonderful and sleep is overrated!


Because I was beginning several weeks into the new year, and I knew there would be a transition of sorts (taking the place of a super neat teacher) I made a little something for all of my students before my first day - letting them know that I couldn't wait to see them in seminary. "I can't wait to see you" on little paint cans filled with Hershey's kisses.

Book Group - This I Believe

Last night our book group discussed the book "This I Believe" - part of a radio program that airs on NPR. It originally began in the 1950's and has recently been revived. It is an opportunity for people of all walks of life to share a brief statement (300-500 words) about something that they believe. Check it out here: This I Believe. It was interesting to discuss the book (I had listened to the cd's - much better than the book in my opinion because they were recorded by the people that wrote them. It was neat to hear some of the older ones like Helen Keller, Thomas Mann, and Carl Sandburg.

Everyone in the group found it a little difficult to write about one core belief but it was fascinating to hear the ones that were shared at our book group. I challenge you to look at the website, read or listen to the book and try to write your own.

This I believe:

I believe in weaving. I have fond memories as a child of weaving potholders using yarn loops on a metal frame, later pounding nails into a wooden frame that my dad made and weaving with cast-off yarn using recycled Popsicle sticks as primitive shuttles. As an adult I taught myself how to weave on a real loom, that was delivered to our home in a very large box - but only as far as the front porch. I painstakingly and slowly maneuvered and muscled it into the house, much to the chagrin of my husband when he saw it in the family room later that day. "Why didn't you wait for me to come home?", he asked. "I just couldn't wait", was my nearly giddy reply.

The entire process of weaving transports me to another time and place as I engage physically and creatively in an experience that binds me to weavers throughout the ages. Ancient ones who discovered that cloth could be made as they interlocked threads - warp and weft together - making fabric that protected, warmed, clothed and beautified. The rhythmic sounds of the loom; harnesses being raised and lowered, the soft jangling of the metal heddles, the whir of the yarn unspooling from the shuttles, and the soft thud of the beater bar are pure music to my ears.

Much of what I weave becomes a gift for those I love. Baby blankets for anxiously anticipated little ones, scarves to keep my family warm, linens to brighten the family table and once a lap blanket for my grandfather who was dying. For his blanket I chose strong colors, striking grays and reds in a bold plaid pattern. With each throw of the shuttle and pull of the beater bar I thought of him, his life and impending death, and how our lives had been woven together.

This happens when one weaves for others as memories and recollections grow and form beneath ones hands as does the cloth. When I finished the blanket I wrapped and warmed myself in it - hoping that my love and affection would somehow become a part of the very fabric itself and that he would feel it and know that it was there - as much a part of the blanket as the threads that made it.

I saw one of my baby blankets wrapped around my niece this summer as we relaxed on the deck in the breath of coolness that accompanies a southern Utah sunset. She is almost ten and for a moment I didn't recognize the blanket as something that I had made. It looked well used and cherished - and because I believe in weaving, I believe she can still feel the love and affection that was woven into it.

Belated B'day Blog

This is a belated b'day post for my sweet husband who celebrated his 40-something birthday last week. Unfortunately, it was a crazy day (in other words, our new normal). I was at e's back-to-school night, e was at a High School Musical rehearsal (she is in the ensemble - performances in 1/08), c was performing at a high school football game and poor Craig came home to an empty house and a to-do list. (Pick-up e, help her get dinner and finish her homework). I got home about the same time that c did from the game which they had lost :( , we frosted the cake, lit many candles, sang, celebrated and then I promptly fell asleep (a future post will explain).

Craig is the love of my life, my best friend and sweetheart for the past 27 years (married for 24).

46 Things About Craig

1) He loves to learn
2) He know unbelievable details about:
3) Ancient world history
4) Geography
5) and Modern history
6) He enjoys sci-fi and fantasy
7) I've lost count of the times he has watched/read LofTR
8) He is a hard worker
9) He is a great father
10) He is a chef and grill master extraordinaire (fajitas, ribs, dirty rice, and cobbler are a few of his specialties.
11) He almost always loads/unloads the dishwasher
12) He loves to tease
13) He makes up the best nicknames for everyone he knows
14) He loves:
15) Disneyworld
16) Christmas
17) and Fireflies
18) He is the best gift giver - really - anytime someone asks me about something in our home, or that I'm wearing, carrying, reading etc - it is almost always a gift from Craig
19) He loves to attend auctions and almost always comes home with something fun
20) He is intrigued by antiques (see #19)
21) He is kind
22) He drives a '94 Merc Tracer while a, c and I are driving new cars
23) He can survive on less sleep than anyone I know
24) He is a great provider
25) He is generous
26) He can still help the girl's with their math
27) He is a great teacher (youth, adults, college and graduate students)
28) I'm always surprised at the number of people that work with him who call him their mentor
29) He has both an intellectual and spiritual understanding of the gospel
30) He always has time for me
31) He enjoys Sunday evening walks and hikes in Zion
32) He stays up until the girls are all home (see #23)
33) He supports me in whatever I choose or am asked to do
34) He loves old movies
35) He does all of our grocery shopping
36) He knows how to spoil me
37) He is loyal
38) He gives practical advice
39) He wasn't too disappointed when I changed my major from accounting to social work
40) He sends flowers
41) He enjoys traveling (for pleasure - although he travels frequently for work)
42) He is an avid reader
43) He has an appreciation for classical music and art
44) He doesn't hesitate to be of help to others
45) He has a wry sense of humor
46) He thinks outside the box



This is what the cake looked like by the next day (hmm, who is feeding their children cake for breakfast. Note the four forks?!