Christmas Joys

Christmas Joys


Evergreen boughs that fill our homes

With fragrant Christmas scents,

Hearts filled with the loving glow

That Christmas represents;


Christmas cookies, turkeys stuffed,

Festive holly berry,

Little faces bright with joy,

Loved ones being merry;



Parties, songs, beribboned gifts,

Silver bells that tinkle,

Christmas trees and ornaments,

Colorful lights that twinkle;



Relatives waiting with open arms

To smile and hug and kiss us;

These are some of the special joys

That come along with Christmas.


By Joanna Fuchs

Matthew and Friends in Alaska

This picture was taken in Alaska last summer: Adam, Kyle, Joe, and my son Matthew went on that trip.  They have since been inspired to pursue the art of mountain climbing. 

Matthew sure looks comfy in this sleeping bag.  Believe it or not, that bag can tolerate weather up to -30 degrees. The picture makes me smile because I think of all the family camping trips we went on; Matthew was the one that always ended up on a root, or in a puddle, or in some way made horribly uncomfortable during the night. In spite of that he loves to camp, however, I think he's decided to sleep on hiking/fishing trips from now on.  I bet he did sleep well in Alaska. I'm looking forward to hearing all the stories when he comes home for Christmas.  I'm sure there was a bit of discomfort out in the back country, but hopefully he was warm and dry. 



Mom

Anyone who knows my mother knows she's oozing with creativity and is very good at the artsy things she takes on.  She's so generous with her gift-- most of the things she makes she gives away.  My dad too.  Her work, like my dad's, requires a lot of patience.  She's actually painted scenes inside of Emu eggs.  I don't have any pictures of that, but I do have a picture of the puppets she made me for a halloween story I wrote involving bullies.

The troll and bowls were made by my father and my mother made the Red Hat Lady sitting on my Serger.  She, herself, is a member of the Red Hat Society.  They have the best time getting together for dinner, riding in parades, and dressing in purple and red.  The poem below is what the Red Hat Society is based on. 

                                                                                                                  

Trolls

When the temperature begins to drop and the holidays draw near, I think of my family in Minnesota.  I go on a Sentimental Journey you might say.  The Buche de Noel reminded me of my dad because I do believe he used to actually have a Yule Log for the Christmas fire when he was young. 

These trolls are hand carved by my Norwegian father.  Silly me-- I thought I'd have the patience for sculpting and bought a little tool kit with different types of blades, found a small block of soft wood  (after trying a harder wood) and discovered that this carving stuff wasn't all that easy.  When I cut my finger, I decided it wasn't fun and set the tools aside.  Anyway, after that, I had an even greater appreciation for what my dad did/does.  Did you notice all the trolls have fish on their lines?  Yep, dad's a fisherman.  They live on a lake connected to a chain of lakes so his summers are spent doing what he loves.  If he's not on the lake, he's in the garden working with rich black soil.  They have many flowers and fruit bearing plants/trees.  I love where they live.  The side of their house facing the lake has a large window.  It's very scenic and peaceful.

Buche De Noel

                                                                                                                                                           Aimee Blume, a very talented friend of mine, made this Buche De Noel to teach those who attended her Kitchen Affairs class how to do it.

This cake is inspired by the Yule logs that were traditionally burned on Christmas Eve.  Aimee did a great job making the color and texture of the cake look natural--ready for the fireplace.  She has mushrooms, fungus, leaves, and moss (all yummy) to make it real interesting to look at.  Aimee is going to make a Buche de Noel for our Christmas party as a hostess gift! How sweet is that?!

                                                                  

Cancer Article, Book: A Case For Adventures by Katie Kerr

Janine Perkett, Lola Perkett, Cary Pallin, Bruce Perkett, and Eric Pallin

The woman in the blue is Cary Pallin, a Radiologist from Kenosha, Wisconsin.  What great person!  I have always admired her strength, intelligence, love of life, and sense of humor. Our kids used to play together when they were young. She's always been an inspiration, but I've been thinking about her more lately because of the recent article I did for the Evansville Courier & Press on a program called ConKerr Cancer.  It made me reflect on her job--what important work she (and her husband) take on!   One of their kids plans on following in their footsteps-- that child had an interesting internship in Tanzania.  I can't imagine...

The article I wrote was the cover article for the Warrick (the county I live in) Tab in the Courier.  The boy pictured, Ryan Kerr,  had bone cancer.  His mother started making cheery pillow cases for her son and others in the hospital when he had to be there for treatment. He has passed on, but people like Shirley Stephan, the local woman pictured above, continue to sew for other children with cancer and life threatening diseases, keeping his memory alive.  To find out more about how the program was inspired and has spread, go to http://www.conkerrcancer.com/.

The young woman holding the book is Ryan Kerr's sister, Katie.  She wrote a book A Case For Adventures to help children understand what it's like for a classmate or friend to go back to school after having treatment.  I haven't read it, but I do want  to order that book and encourage people to donate her book to hospitals with children facing this problem.

Pondering Ventriloquism, Sweet Farts, and Leaf Blowers

Isn't ventriloquism wild?  It's amazing to watch someone seemingly "throw their voice."  According to Wikipedia, "...Originally, ventriloquism was a religious practice. The name comes from the Latin for to speak  from the stomach, i.e. venter (belly) and loqui (speak).[1] The Greeks called this gastromancy (Greek: εγγαστριμυθία). The noises produced by the stomach were thought to be the voices of the unliving, who took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were thought to be able to speak to the dead, as well as foretell the future."  I'd give anything to go back in time to see an ancient ventriloquist.  Wonder what he/she wore ?  If stomach noises were considered to be noises of the unliving, I wonder what they thought stinky gas?  If two people with loud stomachs sat in the same room, would the unliving be having a conversation?

Speaking of interesting noise, at the last writers conference I attended, I learned there is a new picture book out called "Sweet Farts" by Raymond Bean.  I don't know this, but Raymond was probably teased about having gas because of his last name.  At least he made the best of it-- nothing like turning things around, making money off it...   The picture book is about the invention of "sweet farts"-- eating one of those candies would produce the yummy smell of that particular flavor out the other end, if you know what I mean. I haven't read this, but I think the idea is funny and kids will love the book!

I haven't been thinking about ventriloquism or gas until this evening (went to Jalisco's and watched Terry Tator : Live from Las Vegas when we got home), but I have been thinking a lot about noise. This is because I now go for two mile neighborhood walks. I'm raising my metabolism and learning to hate leaf blowers at the same time.  Whatever happened to the good old rake?  They say we need more exercise, what are we blowing leaves around for?  The machine is sooooo loud and obnoxious!  Of course the beautiful autumn days when the sun is shining--it's not too hot or too cold--is when people think it's the perfect time to blow leaves. It's awful meeting up with one of them on a walk, but I swear there's nothing worse than getting comfortable on your deck watching the birds, the blue sky, the green grass and colorful leaves only to be blasted out of tranquility by a leaf blower.

Planting Pansies

 Our daughter, Janine, busy with planting the Pansies she recently purchased at Colonial (where she works) for a dollar.  We also have a vase filled with beautiful pink roses on our kitchen table.  I would take a picture of that right now, but I'm just too tired.  She gave me two rose bushes for Mother's Day one year and takes care of them for me. Take my word for it, they're gorgeous!  Thank you Janine for bringing such color into our lives!