This being the final time I write in 2011 I want to tell you about a gift we gave Aunt Mar this year.
I have mentioned a few times over the last 3-4 months that we found several poems that Aunt Mar wrote, even sharing a few. Back in October we were going through more stuff and found what we feel is her entire collection of poetry. When we did I began typing them up and decided to have them bound in a book for her with the goal of giving it to her for Christmas.
As I worked the scope of the project grew. First of all, she has 72 poems in the collection. Then we decided to find pictures from her life and include them in the book along with a brief biography. I finished it the weekend before Thanksgiving and uploaded it to Lulu.com, a self-publishing, print on demand service, to have several paperback copies made.
We decided to let Aunt Mar know about her book early so we showed her the proofreading copy on Thanksgiving Day. She was blown away. She kept saying over and over that she never expected to see her poems in a book. I know she's read it several times and seems very pleased to have her heritage in tangible form for those who know and love her.
If you are interested in having a copy for yourself use the link below. They are priced at the cost of printing and shipping.
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-wit-wisdom-of-aunt-mar/18689329
We hope you have a wonderful new year in 2012.
Joe
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
After the Wrapping Paper
I am happy to report that we have had a very nice Christmas. Not just the day, though it was beautiful, but the whole season.
REPORT ON AUNT MAR. Last time I wrote I told about Aunt Mar taking a tumble and having to get stitches in her forehead. While her head is healing nicely she didn't have the best week last week.
On Thursday morning (the 22nd) Mom called me at 4:00 am to say that Aunt Mar was complaining of chest pains. We called an ambulance and followed her to the hospital. After several hours of tests the doctor determined that her heart was in good shape. They did find fluid around her lungs but no sign of infection. In short, they could not determine the cause of her pains. They offered to admit her to the hospital for further testing or to release her to follow up later. By this time she was feeling a little better and wanting to go home so we opted for home.
Aunt Mar continued to be weak for another day or so but rebounded somewhat to enjoy Christmas. We were very glad to celebrate another holiday with her at home.
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES. We enjoyed several holiday activities leading up to Christmas, some traditional, some new. Last Tuesday evening Vicki and Jenna went with a large group from church to help out with the Bridge Ministry in Nashville. We've heard guesstimates that 1000-1500 homeless/poor people were served meals that night. They also gave away a lot of things like clothes, coats, food, and other necessities. The bad thing is that they ran out of toys for the kids.
The next day the boys were invited to play with some friends from Cub Scouts. While they were there Vicki and I attended the church staff office party. Jenna had her first official babysitting engagement for another couple who are on our church staff.
Kenny and Lori's annual community Christmas party was Friday night. We went and enjoyed it, though neither Vicki nor I felt very festive because Aunt Mar wasn't feeling well.
Saturday evening held the Christmas Eve service. It was really nice, but I wound up being a casualty of it. At one point all the lights were out. Bro. Bill had a candle to represent the Light of Christ. Vicki and I were among those who were supposed to take that light and spread it to the folks in the congregation. I had a section going up to the balcony. The auditorium was so dark and my candle so bright in front of me that I missed the steps and fell down to one knee. My pride was what suffered the most. We ate supper at Aunt Mar's afterwards (and the next two evenings).
The weather on Christmas Day was beautiful. We headed to church after opening gifts at home. Then we went to Mrs. Connie's for brunch. It was so clear, sunny, and warm all the kids ate outside.
A CHRISTMAS STORY. One of our Christmas traditions is to watch A Christmas Story. It is a movie we all enjoy and will make jokes in reference to it around the Christmas season. This year we let the boys watch it. What was so funny this time was watching Ben and Nate have several ah-ha moments throughout the movie as many of our jokes are now making sense to them. The best one was when Ben realized why we put a leg lamp night light in the hall. When he’s asked me about it in the past I’ve simply said, “Because it’s Italian.”
CHRISTMAS GIFTS. We received a lot of nice gifts for Christmas, though to hear Nate tell it we may not have. Bro. Bill asked all the kids to come up on stage for a special Christmas story and he asked a few of them what they got for Christmas. Nate didn't know (he told Vicki later that he had stage fright). He should have been very excited because he and Ben got Skylanders, a Wii game they've been wanting for months. They also got a battle arena for their Beyblades. Another favorite is a talking parrot (like you see at Cracker Barrel). They have that hanging in their room and it's funny to listen to what all they have that thing say.
Jenna got an iPad. She's been saving her money for an electronic reader of some kind and since she's starting to have to type up a lot of papers for school we figured this was the next best thing to a laptop of her own.
ON THE ROAD. We left Tuesday to spend a little time with the Jones family. It's always fun to go to their house as we all enjoy being together. At one point we had two tables of games going, one for Scrabble and one for Settlers of Catan. Nate has turned out to be a good Catan player. He is sneaky and shrewd which impresses me for an eight year old.
We returned home today, stopping to eat brunch with the Yergler family. They introduced us to Mexican Train Dominoes which seems to be a really fun game. They gave us a copy of the game for our own and I'm looking forward to playing it this weekend.
Sarah and her new husband, Jason, were in from Texas and we enjoyed getting to meet him. I think Sarah made a great choice.
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THE WORLD! That's exactly what Jenna thought the other day when she was leaving the house. Turns out she had forgotten to put in her contacts and things were a little blurry.
I wish my eyes were that good. If I woke up and saw things anywhere close to being in focus I'd think something was wrong with the world.
LOCKED IN. Jenna had a close call the other day. She was closing the door to her room when the doorknob came off in her hand. Fortunately, she caught the door before it shut because the part left in her hand didn’t include the axle that turns the latch. That fell in the floor on the hall side of the door. I’m just glad we had an old door from the kitchen stored away because the hardware store doesn’t carry parts for 100 year old doorknobs.
TWO LITER BIRD FEEDER. Earlier this month Nate was responsible for a craft at Cub Scouts. He and I decided to make bird feeders from two liter bottles. He got really excited the other day watching the birds eat from his feeder. I’m not sure if he was proud of his feeder or proud that I made something that actually works.
Joe
REPORT ON AUNT MAR. Last time I wrote I told about Aunt Mar taking a tumble and having to get stitches in her forehead. While her head is healing nicely she didn't have the best week last week.
On Thursday morning (the 22nd) Mom called me at 4:00 am to say that Aunt Mar was complaining of chest pains. We called an ambulance and followed her to the hospital. After several hours of tests the doctor determined that her heart was in good shape. They did find fluid around her lungs but no sign of infection. In short, they could not determine the cause of her pains. They offered to admit her to the hospital for further testing or to release her to follow up later. By this time she was feeling a little better and wanting to go home so we opted for home.
Aunt Mar continued to be weak for another day or so but rebounded somewhat to enjoy Christmas. We were very glad to celebrate another holiday with her at home.
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES. We enjoyed several holiday activities leading up to Christmas, some traditional, some new. Last Tuesday evening Vicki and Jenna went with a large group from church to help out with the Bridge Ministry in Nashville. We've heard guesstimates that 1000-1500 homeless/poor people were served meals that night. They also gave away a lot of things like clothes, coats, food, and other necessities. The bad thing is that they ran out of toys for the kids.
The next day the boys were invited to play with some friends from Cub Scouts. While they were there Vicki and I attended the church staff office party. Jenna had her first official babysitting engagement for another couple who are on our church staff.
Kenny and Lori's annual community Christmas party was Friday night. We went and enjoyed it, though neither Vicki nor I felt very festive because Aunt Mar wasn't feeling well.
Saturday evening held the Christmas Eve service. It was really nice, but I wound up being a casualty of it. At one point all the lights were out. Bro. Bill had a candle to represent the Light of Christ. Vicki and I were among those who were supposed to take that light and spread it to the folks in the congregation. I had a section going up to the balcony. The auditorium was so dark and my candle so bright in front of me that I missed the steps and fell down to one knee. My pride was what suffered the most. We ate supper at Aunt Mar's afterwards (and the next two evenings).
The weather on Christmas Day was beautiful. We headed to church after opening gifts at home. Then we went to Mrs. Connie's for brunch. It was so clear, sunny, and warm all the kids ate outside.
A CHRISTMAS STORY. One of our Christmas traditions is to watch A Christmas Story. It is a movie we all enjoy and will make jokes in reference to it around the Christmas season. This year we let the boys watch it. What was so funny this time was watching Ben and Nate have several ah-ha moments throughout the movie as many of our jokes are now making sense to them. The best one was when Ben realized why we put a leg lamp night light in the hall. When he’s asked me about it in the past I’ve simply said, “Because it’s Italian.”
CHRISTMAS GIFTS. We received a lot of nice gifts for Christmas, though to hear Nate tell it we may not have. Bro. Bill asked all the kids to come up on stage for a special Christmas story and he asked a few of them what they got for Christmas. Nate didn't know (he told Vicki later that he had stage fright). He should have been very excited because he and Ben got Skylanders, a Wii game they've been wanting for months. They also got a battle arena for their Beyblades. Another favorite is a talking parrot (like you see at Cracker Barrel). They have that hanging in their room and it's funny to listen to what all they have that thing say.
Jenna got an iPad. She's been saving her money for an electronic reader of some kind and since she's starting to have to type up a lot of papers for school we figured this was the next best thing to a laptop of her own.
ON THE ROAD. We left Tuesday to spend a little time with the Jones family. It's always fun to go to their house as we all enjoy being together. At one point we had two tables of games going, one for Scrabble and one for Settlers of Catan. Nate has turned out to be a good Catan player. He is sneaky and shrewd which impresses me for an eight year old.
We returned home today, stopping to eat brunch with the Yergler family. They introduced us to Mexican Train Dominoes which seems to be a really fun game. They gave us a copy of the game for our own and I'm looking forward to playing it this weekend.
Sarah and her new husband, Jason, were in from Texas and we enjoyed getting to meet him. I think Sarah made a great choice.
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THE WORLD! That's exactly what Jenna thought the other day when she was leaving the house. Turns out she had forgotten to put in her contacts and things were a little blurry.
I wish my eyes were that good. If I woke up and saw things anywhere close to being in focus I'd think something was wrong with the world.
LOCKED IN. Jenna had a close call the other day. She was closing the door to her room when the doorknob came off in her hand. Fortunately, she caught the door before it shut because the part left in her hand didn’t include the axle that turns the latch. That fell in the floor on the hall side of the door. I’m just glad we had an old door from the kitchen stored away because the hardware store doesn’t carry parts for 100 year old doorknobs.
TWO LITER BIRD FEEDER. Earlier this month Nate was responsible for a craft at Cub Scouts. He and I decided to make bird feeders from two liter bottles. He got really excited the other day watching the birds eat from his feeder. I’m not sure if he was proud of his feeder or proud that I made something that actually works.
Joe
Monday, December 19, 2011
Half Way Through December
It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through December...of 2011. That we’re near the end of the year is one thing. That we’re in the second decade of the Twenty-First Century is quite enough. We were with Aunt Mar the other day when she was writing a check. She asked for the date and Jenna gave it to her. Then she said, “19...?” because Jenna didn’t give her the year. I’m like Aunt Mar--eleven years into it and I still find it hard to believe we’re in the 2000s.
CHRISTMAS BREAK. The kids have finished school for the fall semester since I wrote last. They’ve turned in projects, been on field trips, and had parties. Now school is out for two glorious weeks! Other things are winding up for the season as well. We had our final Awana Club meeting last week and the Scouts have their Christmas party tonight.
We are doing well with our Christmas shopping which makes me wonder how we managed before we could shop online. I hope to put our Christmas cards in the mail today. And one of the best things is that Vicki and Jenna have turned our kitchen into a candy factory. (Well, that last one tastes wonderful, but I know the day of reckoning will come when I step on the scales.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI. We celebrated Vicki’s birthday a week ago Saturday (the 10th). We actually celebrated three times. The first time was just the two of us on Friday evening (the 9th). The boys went to a Parents Night Out fundraiser at their school and Jenna stayed with Mom and Aunt Mar while we went out to a favorite Korean restaurant in West Nashville. After satisfying our appetites with two bowls of dolsot bibimbap we browsed for a while at McKay Books.
The following night all five of us went to see the Christmas musical at Cornerstone Church in Madison. They did a great job, but none of us were prepared for it to be two hours long. After the show was over we went to Logan’s Roadhouse for a late supper.
Mom and Aunt Mar took us to Cracker Barrel on Tuesday night to round off the celebrations. Between all that, the Christmas candy, and some office parties I have eaten way too much. ’Tis the season, I guess.
ASLEEP AT THE TABLE. This news falls under the “it could be so much worse” category. Yesterday Aunt Mar was sitting at the kitchen table when she fell out of her chair. Her head hit the floor and she split open a 1.5 inch gash on her forehead above her right eye. We took her to the hospital and now she is sporting six stitches and a nice bruise. While at the hospital we learned she has a touch of pneumonia and has cracked her left pinkie finger. She was released to go home last night after receiving antibiotics by IV. I’m sure she’s going to be plenty sore this week, but we’re glad she can be home.
A CHRISTMAS POEM. With Aunt Mar and Christmas on my mind I’ll share a poem she wrote in 1991.
Joe
CHRISTMAS BREAK. The kids have finished school for the fall semester since I wrote last. They’ve turned in projects, been on field trips, and had parties. Now school is out for two glorious weeks! Other things are winding up for the season as well. We had our final Awana Club meeting last week and the Scouts have their Christmas party tonight.
We are doing well with our Christmas shopping which makes me wonder how we managed before we could shop online. I hope to put our Christmas cards in the mail today. And one of the best things is that Vicki and Jenna have turned our kitchen into a candy factory. (Well, that last one tastes wonderful, but I know the day of reckoning will come when I step on the scales.)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI. We celebrated Vicki’s birthday a week ago Saturday (the 10th). We actually celebrated three times. The first time was just the two of us on Friday evening (the 9th). The boys went to a Parents Night Out fundraiser at their school and Jenna stayed with Mom and Aunt Mar while we went out to a favorite Korean restaurant in West Nashville. After satisfying our appetites with two bowls of dolsot bibimbap we browsed for a while at McKay Books.
The following night all five of us went to see the Christmas musical at Cornerstone Church in Madison. They did a great job, but none of us were prepared for it to be two hours long. After the show was over we went to Logan’s Roadhouse for a late supper.
Mom and Aunt Mar took us to Cracker Barrel on Tuesday night to round off the celebrations. Between all that, the Christmas candy, and some office parties I have eaten way too much. ’Tis the season, I guess.
ASLEEP AT THE TABLE. This news falls under the “it could be so much worse” category. Yesterday Aunt Mar was sitting at the kitchen table when she fell out of her chair. Her head hit the floor and she split open a 1.5 inch gash on her forehead above her right eye. We took her to the hospital and now she is sporting six stitches and a nice bruise. While at the hospital we learned she has a touch of pneumonia and has cracked her left pinkie finger. She was released to go home last night after receiving antibiotics by IV. I’m sure she’s going to be plenty sore this week, but we’re glad she can be home.
A CHRISTMAS POEM. With Aunt Mar and Christmas on my mind I’ll share a poem she wrote in 1991.
Just a few days till Christmas, what will I doI heard Aunt Mar read this poem aloud not too long ago. When she did she pronounced the last word “Santy” which rhymed somewhat with “many” from the previous line. She usually pronounces “Santa Claus” the normal way.
Job to be finished, can I possibly get through
Baking, shopping and cleaning all to be done
And decorating the tree should be lots of fun
Why must I let all these things worry me
When I have good health and live in the land of the free
The Lord is so good, our blessings are many
I’m slowing down to enjoy Christmas and the visit of Old Santa
Joe
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Great Thanksgiving
We had one of the best, most relaxing Thanksgivings that I can remember. We weren’t rushed, but we got a lot done. More importantly, we had a great time together.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather over our break. The days were pretty and warm--a sharp contrast to the stories Aunt Mar tells of Thanksgiving when she was a girl. At that time the weather was usually very cold on Thanksgiving Day and her family would spend the day killing a hog and processing the meat. She says it was very messy and recalls all the doorknobs in the house being greasy. Back in the present day, we didn’t get cold weather until last week, but then it warmed back up by this weekend.
Speaking of ham, Vicki baked one and with Jenna’s help made all the side dishes (sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, squash dressing, etc.) for our Thanksgiving meal. When it was done we took it all over to Aunt Mar’s where we had a lot of fun spending the afternoon with them. When the meal was over we spent the rest of the time visiting until after it got dark.
On the topic of food, Nate found some Reese’s Cup wrappers in the bathroom trash can and came out wondering who had eaten them. That’s when Ben confessed to doing it because he wanted “real American food.”
We spent the rest of the weekend raking leaves, decorating for Christmas, and simply enjoying time together. We even worked in two games of Settlers of Catan which has become a family favorite. One thing we did not do is go shopping on Black Friday (well, we did go to Dollar General to get Christmas tree lights), but Nate sure was looking forward to the day. He wanted to watch the news and see all the people fighting over high demand gift items.
One of the Christmas decorations we put up is a little sprig of mistletoe on the light fixture in the hall. Vicki heard the boys the other morning when they came downstairs and walked under it. Ben noticed it first and pointed it out to Nate. They talked about the tradition associated with mistletoe then Nate suggested they just hug each other instead. As they were hugging they were proclaiming their brotherly love for each other.
Last week our schedule picked up a bit with basketball practice. Jenna practices on Tuesdays and the boys on Thursdays. The good thing is that the boys are on the same team this year so their practice night is shorter than last year.
If we aren’t in the Christmas spirit by this weekend we’re just not going to be. Yesterday was the annual Christmas Parade in Cross Plains. We set up a hot chocolate and cookie stand near the center of town. It was a much warmer day than last year as I was wearing a short sleeve shirt (though I found my jacket when I moved to a shady spot).
Our parade is really neat for a small town. My running joke (and I’ve gotten more mileage out of it than I should) is that the parade is longer than the town. I’m always amazed at the number of businesses and organizations that are represented in the parade. They come up with some really creative float ideas. I do think Mom said it well when she commented that the happiest man in the parade was Carl Swann who was driving a Willys Jeep he recently purchased. He was smiling all the way down Main Street.
We rounded off our weekend this evening by putting up Mom and Aunt Mar’s tree and other decorations. Now to get our Christmas card picture and our shopping done and we’ll be good to go.
Joe
We couldn’t have asked for better weather over our break. The days were pretty and warm--a sharp contrast to the stories Aunt Mar tells of Thanksgiving when she was a girl. At that time the weather was usually very cold on Thanksgiving Day and her family would spend the day killing a hog and processing the meat. She says it was very messy and recalls all the doorknobs in the house being greasy. Back in the present day, we didn’t get cold weather until last week, but then it warmed back up by this weekend.
Speaking of ham, Vicki baked one and with Jenna’s help made all the side dishes (sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, squash dressing, etc.) for our Thanksgiving meal. When it was done we took it all over to Aunt Mar’s where we had a lot of fun spending the afternoon with them. When the meal was over we spent the rest of the time visiting until after it got dark.
On the topic of food, Nate found some Reese’s Cup wrappers in the bathroom trash can and came out wondering who had eaten them. That’s when Ben confessed to doing it because he wanted “real American food.”
We spent the rest of the weekend raking leaves, decorating for Christmas, and simply enjoying time together. We even worked in two games of Settlers of Catan which has become a family favorite. One thing we did not do is go shopping on Black Friday (well, we did go to Dollar General to get Christmas tree lights), but Nate sure was looking forward to the day. He wanted to watch the news and see all the people fighting over high demand gift items.
One of the Christmas decorations we put up is a little sprig of mistletoe on the light fixture in the hall. Vicki heard the boys the other morning when they came downstairs and walked under it. Ben noticed it first and pointed it out to Nate. They talked about the tradition associated with mistletoe then Nate suggested they just hug each other instead. As they were hugging they were proclaiming their brotherly love for each other.
Last week our schedule picked up a bit with basketball practice. Jenna practices on Tuesdays and the boys on Thursdays. The good thing is that the boys are on the same team this year so their practice night is shorter than last year.
If we aren’t in the Christmas spirit by this weekend we’re just not going to be. Yesterday was the annual Christmas Parade in Cross Plains. We set up a hot chocolate and cookie stand near the center of town. It was a much warmer day than last year as I was wearing a short sleeve shirt (though I found my jacket when I moved to a shady spot).
Our parade is really neat for a small town. My running joke (and I’ve gotten more mileage out of it than I should) is that the parade is longer than the town. I’m always amazed at the number of businesses and organizations that are represented in the parade. They come up with some really creative float ideas. I do think Mom said it well when she commented that the happiest man in the parade was Carl Swann who was driving a Willys Jeep he recently purchased. He was smiling all the way down Main Street.
We rounded off our weekend this evening by putting up Mom and Aunt Mar’s tree and other decorations. Now to get our Christmas card picture and our shopping done and we’ll be good to go.
Joe
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