Christmas 2015

This year was wonderful.  We had Charles, Luz Maria, alice and little charlie  along with Beth, charlieM, Molly and Sara and Archie for the day of gift opening and dinner.  We had ham, roast, mashed potatoes, honey carrots, fruit salad, pumpkin rolls, sweet sticky rolls and angel cake and pecan pie.
We got lots of nice gifts.  I'm enjoying my fit bit which clocks my miles of walking around the house and the yard.  It was a fun Christmas.

The kids went caroling with us to Ledgeview nursing home and to the Christmas Eve service.
It has been a great Christmas.
We enjoy Molly and her rock knowledge and Sara with her medical history knowledge.  It fun listening to them tell of their adventures.  Sara will present a paper in London next week.  The girls have many great adventures.

Saturday we climbed to the largest glacial erratic boulder in Maine.  The climb was worth it.  What an awesome rock that moved so much during the ice age.

Post Thanksgiving

November 28, 2015
Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We have much to be thankful for:  our family, children, grandchildren and greats.  we so enjoy listening to the grand kids talk about their academia experiences.  We continue to live active lives vicariously  through them.

Our big tree has gotten lots of publicity this week in the printed word.  Visitors are coming to take a peek and I enjoy being a guide. Tom has printed p more maps so hopefully they won't get lost if we are not here to guide.

Big tree

Yesterday as we were returning from the hospital where I had been all day having my throat and stomach examined, a reporter from the Advitisor democrat was here to interview Tom and take pictures of our white pine which is officially the largest in Oxford County.  Tom  let me in the house to rest and took Leslie on his ATV to the tree.  I'm sure it was a scary ride as I have not yet braved the trip on the back of the ATV.Reporters are brave people.
Since is was my birthday, Beth served the delicious cake she had mede and we had a little celebration of my 82nd. She made a lovely warm scarf and matching headband for me and Tom bought me a silk scarf and the foot bubble bath.
today is just an ordinary day with my two students.  My adult was her this morning and I will have my little one this afternoon.  I enjoy both of these.  They are both smart in their own ways and it's fun to see them grasp music.

Approaching 82

Tomorrow I will make the 82 year old mark.  I know this because the house smells delicious from the birthday cake my sweet daughter and best friend just made  I will eat it on Tuesday as I will be in the hospital tomorrow having a procedure to check out my throat.
Tom and I had many adventures yesterday shopping.  He bought me a foot bath that bubbles.  We also shopped for Christmas toys for the little tykes.
I'm beginning to work on Christmas music for my churches.  It's fun to pull out the various books I have and play through them and choose the appropriate ones for the upcoming Sundays.
I'm planning on having a little Christmas Tea recital for my two students, one adult and one child.  It will give them an opportunity to play before a tiny audience.  I have always enjoyed teaching and when I see a student begin to grasp concepts whether musical or academic, it gives me such pleasure.  I hope to be a blessing with my music as long as I'm able.  Right now, I seem to still give people enjoyment.  When I feel I"m no longer doing justice to the music and the LORD, I will surely step aside. I can't last too much longer.

LIfe's travels

We don't plan anymore road or cruise trips, so here it the best we can do.  I will try to find adventures on our way to the doctor's, grocery, or physical therapy.  Look for these next adventures.

Forrest critters

Yesterday Tom saw a barred owl in the woods and two ruffed  grouse when he was 4 wheeling.  This morning I was going to walk Mora and fortunately saw a fox in the back yard where I was about to take her.  I quickly got her back in the house and ran to get my camera.  He was too far away to get a good photo, but Tom thought he was lame.  He was limping.

Later today, I took Mora out and didn't realize the yard was full of turkeys.  She had fun and soon the sky was full of turkeys getting out of her way.  Our forest critters seem to be everywhere in this 60 degree mid November weather. I walked the Luella trail by myself as Mora refused to go with me.

Yesterday I started giving piano to a teacher friend of mine.  I forgot what it was like to give lessons to someone who is old enough to understand what you are trying to do.  But then my little one came for her lesson and she had practiced better, so all was not bad.
I would like maybe 2 more students, but I hesitate to advertise.

I don't have much time, but if I can help someone find happiness with music, it will give me great pleasure.

Life's adventures, good and bad

It is true that life is a series of adventures and how we respond to these adventures shapes our lives.  We all love to relive our vacations and the good parts of the kids growing up, but when life deals us lemons, do we make lemonade or choke on the acidity?

Last week when the well had a problem and the testing stirred up the water, it was an inconvience.
Later that same day, when the washer broke and thought I needed 4 inches of water all over my kitchen,  Tom quipped as we were frantically sweeping rushing water out into the garage, " The floor has never been this clean." That was actually true and I had to laugh amid my struggles with too much "mop" water.

Yes, that was an adventure that I could have done without.
However, earlier that same day, I was riding on the back of the 4 wheeler, as Tom drove  us into the woods.  The pretty leaves are all gone and most trees stand naked, which allowed me to see that running along in the woods off to our side was a deer trying to keep up with the 4 wheeler.  As the evergreen trees on either side turned  our trails into  dark mysterious tunnels, we sped on down, past the beaver dam and the rock debris from the mine explosion.  I got off of my ride at the mine and walked behind Tom to the North East corner of our 100 acres.  The river had been turned into a large lake, thanks to more beaver dams. It was overall a very good adventure and we had no mishaps.  That adventure happened just hours before our water disaster. So I look at this as a balance of adventures.  Lemonade?

What will today bring?  I have not idea.
Some more good adventures have been trcent surprise visits from long ago friends.  As we age, memories are about all the real adventures that we have left.
I should get ready for the day and have more coffee as I await the delivery of my new washing machine.

The first blizzard of 2015 was truly a wind driven snow for over 24 hours.  Accumulation was hard to measure, but Beth says over a foot, easily.  The drifts are higher than her waist.  We fared well and did not loose power.  Watched lots of Netflix and played the piano.  The animals basically stayed in, especially the cats.   We have to go out later in the day and Beth gets to go in late to work.

I may start the new year by getting back to my posting.  I will start by sending this little short story that I wrote yesterday.

EDEN IS WHERE YOU FIND IT

Five year old Ella fled the old farm house that was shaking with the angry voices of her parents as they lit into another of their fights.  She fled past the chickens who scattered as she ran.  She left the back gate and past the outhouse toward the barn.  She fled past the barn and pig sty with tears flying behind her as she ran.  She was scantily clad in a feed sack dress and no shoes, but it was early summer and the  air was warm.  

Ella knew where she was going as she continued down a hill in the deep woods. 

Suddenly she came out of the woods to an area of bright blooming flowers.  She collapsed on the ground on a carpet of purple and white violets. Overhead twining among tree branches were fragrant trumpet shaped yellow jasmine blossoms.  The pink honey suckle bushes were heavy with their delicate blooms.  The gransom greybeard tree was also dripping it’s fragrant tentacles over the bubbling brook. 

Ella fell asleep in this nature filled bedroom and dreamed of finding a knight in shining armor one day on her doorstep to show her more beauties in this world, never dreaming that one day that would happen.  But for the moment, this beautiful piece of the world was her own garden of Eden and she would grow up loving the sights and smells of beautiful flowers.  

She awoke with a start and saw the sun was beginning to set.  The  cows would be in soon and it was her job to milk.  Children on a farm learn early to do chores and this was one that Ella thought was fun.  She liked to hear the milk ping into the pan and she always petted the cow first.  Jerseys were so smooth and firm.  The cows were her friends and they all had names.  She loved their big brown eyes as they would turn and look at her as she milked.  She sat on a tiny stool to do the milking and when she was done, she would hurry home with the bucket of foaming warm milk where her mother would pour it though a clean cloth to take out any impurities that might have fallen in during the milking.