Gathering Graces 2/10/2019

*Our church service was moved into our Fellowship Hall because our sanctuary was about 50 degrees.  As we sang our worship songs, someone commented, as they looked out of the wall of windows in the Fellowship Hall, that it was like we were having church in a snow globe.  It was beautiful outside, as the wind swirled the snowflakes around before they hit the ground.

*The afternoon was spent getting ready for family dinner.  Paul and I were hosting Bill, Christy and Everett for dinner and I prepared some herb roasted chicken drumsticks, some hot chicken wings, a green salad, broccoli with lemon and butter, and some mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese, garlic and Parmesan Cheese.

*Because of the cold and blustery weather we have been having, a hot toddy sounded nice to have before dinner to help warm us all up.  It was nice to sit in the living room surrounded  by my recent transformation from snowmen to red hearts in honor of the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday.  Paul found my Valentine’s decoration as he was organizing our basement storage room and brought it upstairs for me.  It has been so long since I decorated for Valentine’s Day that I didn’t even realize I had some of these decorations.

*It was a wonderful evening.

Gathering Graces 2/9/2019

*Napping throughout the morning was just the thing I needed to do to get caught up on my sleep. 

*My snowmen were boxed up and put to bed for another year.  I hope to spread some Valentine cheer throughout the house tomorrow.

*As the snow fell and the wind blew today, it was very cold outside.  Clark, our one cat who likes to be outside a lot, only spent about 10 minutes at a time outside throughout the day because of the cold temperatures. 

*The fireplace makes things so warm and cozy on days like today. 

Gathering Graces 2/8/2019

*Because of the Chinese New Year holiday, bookings for classes is typically down in February.  I have had some students, but am not fully booked.  It has actually been a much needed break from the full schedule I have been used to since November.  I am enjoying having some breaks in the schedule, and have signed up to take some online workshops as well.  This is one of the greatest things VIPKID provides for their teachers.  I always come away with something to use in my classroom, learning from the other VIPKID teachers.

*We have had an abundance of salad mix in the fridge, so tonight I stir fried some shrimp and Paul put a salad together, and we poured the shrimp over the salad, and it tasted so good.  I especially like the warm, oily sauce with some seasoning and lemon juice in it poured over the salad and shrimp.  I think I could eat a salad like that every day and not get tired of it.

*The snow fell most of the day today.  Not a lot, but it was pretty steady throughout the day, and it was cold. We are suppose to have snow for the next few days.  I just did work by the fireplace for most of the day, and enjoyed staying warm.

*Paul continues to work on projects around the house.  He is re-purposing the wood from our bunk beds.  One thing he made is a wooden hanger for some of our stringed instruments, including two ukuleles, two guitars and a violin. 

Gathering Graces 2/7/2019

*I could not stay awake almost all morning.  I would try to complete some task, and doze off.  I would try again....doze off.  I finally gave in, laid on the couch and pulled a blanket over me, and took a nap.  My body was getting back used to waking up in the wee hours of the morning to teach class, after having a couple of days off.

*Christy and I are part of the committee for our Delta Delta Delta reunion being held in Moscow in June.  We are helping organize some activities for Saturday afternoon.  I had a couple of things to take care of, and I got them done today.  Now the information will be sent to the people sending out the registration packet.  I am really looking forward to the reunion this summer.  There are some people coming I haven’t seen for years, and it will be wonderful to reconnect with them.

*Skits and games keep my drama kids content in the after school program.  As long as I keep them active playing games and performing or improvising skits, they are happy, and their creative juices are flowing.  It is a fun sight to see and be a part of on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

Gathering Graces 2/6/2019

*Paul took today off to help with the funeral service of our friend Robin Jones.  Since we were both home today, we decided to do a blood glucose curve for our cat Toby.  This requires doing an ear prick and collecting blood on a strip and putting in a meter and getting  reading.  This is done every two hours for 12 hours.  It is not an awful thing to do, but I am glad we don’t have to do it that often.

*I had a dentist appointment scheduled for this morning, so I was unable to go to the funeral service.  But I contributed by preparing some food for the potluck supper they were serving after the funeral.  Not much happened at my dentist appointment.  The dentist is waiting until the sensitivity in my tooth calms down enough to get my crown permanently set.  Once water and air were put on my tooth, I knew it wasn’t going to be ready.  So I will go back in a few weeks, and check it again. But it was better than the last time I was in, so I do believe it is getting better!!

*The next two weeks I am talking to my drama students about Melodrama.  I prepared some information and some short melodrama skits for them to perform, and some theater games.  It is so fun to watch these students perform, and act out these short skits. 

*For dinner, I had put some frozen chicken drumsticks on the Crockpot on a bed of chicken broth, onions and mushrooms.  I seasoned it with herbs de Provence and salt and pepper.  I fixed some Cauliflower Lemon Pepper Rice to eat with it and a green salad.  The chicken turned out really good!!  I love using the Crockpot when forget to take out meat early enough to get it thawed.  The lovely Crockpot does it for you as it cooks!!

*At tonight’s PEO meeting, Christy and Dawn provided the program.  They brought supplies to make plant markers out of small wooden spoons.  It was a fun project to work on.  I made a couple for my house plants to remind me that I need to water them each week....one said “Water Me”, the other said “Kiss Me”.  Hopefully these will be good reminders for me to keep up on the watering of my house plants.

Gathering Graces 2/5/2019

*Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I took off from teaching classes in the morning.  I was curious if I would be able to sleep later than I normally get up now.  Monday morning I slept later.  This morning, Sadie woke up around 3 a.m. to go outside, and I was then wide awake.  I took advantage of being wide awake and grabbed my book and headed out to the couch to read.  I was able to get some reading in before I fell back to sleep. 

*It ended up being a wonderful day to finish the book Rules of Civility.  I liked the story, and I like the way Towles writes. I think A Gentleman in Moscow was much better written, but then it was published five years later. 

*Christy took Bill to a follow up appointment after his cataract surgery.  I got a text from Bill who wanted me to go check on the dogs.  So around 10 or so I went over and let the dogs out, and they were doing just fine.  I also stopped by Kellogg Pet Medical Center to pick up some dog food for Sadie and some syringes for Toby.  Then it was off to Yokes to purchase some items so I can make some food for a potluck lunch that will be served after the funeral of my friend Robin Jones.  I am unable to attend the service tomorrow because I have a scheduled dentist appointment.  So I am glad I can help in some way.  Paul will be helping with the service.

*Before I knew it, it was almost 4:30 p.m., and time to teach some classes.  I had four classes tonight.  Three new students, and one regular, all boys around 8 or 9 years old.  They were all great.  I especially enjoy my last student, Brighton, who, for an 8 year old, speaks English very well, and we talked about his Chinese New Year celebration, and he and his mom taught me how to say  Guònián hǎo, which means “Pass the New Year Well.” 

Gathering Graces 2/4/2019

*In my VIPKID Facebook Group, someone shared a link for the Spring Festival Gala that a majority of Chinese families watch as part of their New Year’s Eve celebration.  I started watching this morning, just before 8 a.m., which is just before midnight Beijing time in China.  So I was able to watch the them bring in the new year.  And then I watched the gala for a few hours.  Even though I could not understand what they were saying, it was still very entertaining.

*Today was a snow day for the Kellogg School District, so Paul got to be home today.  My brother Bill was having cataract surgery in CDA this morning, and, with the road condition a bit uncertain, Paul offered to drive Bill to his appointment.  So Paul drove Bill and and they were both back by before noon, and the roads ended up not being too bad.

*The book Rules of Civility was in my hand a lot today, and I spent a lot of time reading it.  It is a really good story, and I am enjoying reading it, and enjoy the writing style of Amor Towles.

*I had one student to teach this evening named Dora.  She is a nice student, and her mom asked me to help her pronounce correctly some of the items they use as part of their Spring Festival.

Gathering Graces 2/3/2019

*Because of many of my VIPKID students celebrating Chinese New Year this week, I changed my availability schedule for the next few days.  Today I taught students this morning like I regularly do.  I also taught some students tonight, which I don’t regularly do.  I did not schedule any classes for the next three mornings, but have some scheduled for Monday and Tuesday nights.  Wednesday I have no classes scheduled!!    This will be the first time since the end of October that I haven’t got up early to teach.  I even let myself stay up late tonight, because I knew I would get more sleep tonight!!

*I was hoping we would get snow today, but it was just a lot of rain here in Kellogg.  I am sure the mountains were getting snow, which is a good thing.  By evening, the temperature had fallen, the wind started blowing, and the snow started falling.  \

*As I was finishing up classes this evening, a delicious smell started wafting down in the basement where I was teaching.  I had put some fish out to thaw for dinner, and Paul had taken it and made a delicious vegetable and fish stir fry and he also steamed some broccoli.  It was wonderful. Yep, Paul treats me pretty good!  (His dad Burton was a good role model!!)

*There was a fun connection I made between the book I am reading Rules of Civility, and the show I am watching on Netflix The West Wing.  Both make reference to a list written by George Washington titled Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.  President Bartlett made reference to it in the episode Six Meetings Before Lunch. Even though I haven’t read the whole book, I am assuming Washington’s list was the inspiration for the title of Towles book.  I look forward to seeing how it comes into play more as I continue reading the story.  Here is a description I found that explains a bit about the list.

By age sixteen, George Washington had copied out by hand, 110 rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. They are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595. Presumably they were copied out as part of an exercise in penmanship assigned by young Washington's schoolmaster. The first English translations of the French rules appeared in 1640, and are ascribed to Francis Hawkins, the twelve-year-old son of a doctor.     Richard Brookhiser, in his book on Washington wrote, "all modern manners in the western world were originally aristocratic. Courtesy meant behavior appropriate to a court; chivalry comes from chevalier - a knight. Yet Washington was to dedicate himself to freeing America from a court's control. Could manners survive the operation? Without realizing it, the Jesuits who wrote them, and the young man who copied them, were outlining and absorbing a system of courtesy appropriate to equals and near equals. When the company for whom the decent behavior was to be performed expanded to the nation, Washington was ready. Parson Weems got this right, when he wrote that it was 'no wonder every body honored him who honored every body.'" 

The first three items included on this list are as follows:

1. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.
2. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually Discovered.
3. Shew Nothing to your Friend that may affright him.

If you are curious as to what 110 rules comprise this list, you can find it here. 

Rule 110:  Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

Gathering Graces 2/2/2019

*Paul had a meeting most of the day today, so I spent my time at home reading a book, listening to a book, and enjoying every moment of both the reading and the listening.

*My last class of the morning was with a student named Tommy.  We got into a conversation about Legos, and I showed him some Legos (my own Legos that I had growing up as a child), and he started showing me all kinds of Legos that he owned.  He had Christmas Advent Legos and Superhero Legos, to name a few.  It was fun to see his excitement as he shared with me about one of his favorite toys.

*Some of my reading time took place in a nice warm bubble bath with some Epsom Salt mixed in.  It felt so good to relax this way.

*One of the items on my list for the day was to work in the basement for at least an hour.  So around 3:30 p.m. I headed down to the basement and went through two boxes of items.  Some of it got thrown away.  Some got put aside to figure out what to do with it.  Some will be put in a box or bag to be donated.  It is amazing the things you keep and find in these boxes of miscellaneous memories and junk.

Gathering Graces 2/1/2019

*Welcome February!!  What oh what weather will you bring?

*After enjoying Amor Towles A Gentleman in Moscow, I checked out the first novel he wrote from the library, titled Rule of Civility.  It is set in New York City.  And even though it is during the 1930’s, as they describe parts of NYC, I am transported back and love the descriptions of places I have been. 

*Christy and I met at The Bean this afternoon for coffee and more talk about the Myers-Brigg personality test, and what our results mean.  I look forward to talking to her about it more.  I am an ENFP, and Paul is an INFP.  This makes Paul “The Idealist”, and it makes me “The Champion”.  I always find these personality tests very intriguing. 

*I purchased a big jar of oysters from Costco last weekend, and was going to prepare them Thursday night, but I couldn’t get the jar open.  So Paul came to the rescue and opened it for me today, and I found a Martha Stewart recipe for broiled oysters that looked easy and quick, so I prepared that after I was finished teaching my classes tonight.  They were delicious.  I also made us a couple of vodka martinis, which were also delicious. 

Gathering Graces 1/31/2019

*It is the last day of January, the the last two items of my list of  “things to do” were crossed off the list.  Sometimes....it is the little things that bring a sense of accomplishment!

*Molly and Travis have been needing a new vehicle for a while, and I received some pictures today of their beautiful new (to them) 2012 Chevrolet Cruze.  I am very excited for them!!  (And feel much better that they now have a much more reliable vehicle to get them where they need to go!)

*Our next sibling assignment involved taking a series of photographs out in nature, and either posting them or making a slide show.  I decided to put it into a slide show.  If you would like to view my photographs, all taken in my backyard, you can go to my blog post here.

*We set up the curtain and brought out the puppets, and had fun at drama class today doing some skits with the puppets.  I look forward to doing more with the puppets in future classes.

Sibling Assignment 2019.1 There's A Right Time For Everything

Christy gave us Sibling Assignment #204.  Here was our assignment:

Do a photo walk and take time to observe what" beauty is created in nature”. Post a series of pictures or do a slide show. Christy's post is here, and Bill's post here.

During the summer I spend a lot of time in my backyard, and I love taking photographs of my backyard. I don't do that as much in the winter. But this week I decided to do a walk around my backyard and, as the assignment said, observe what beauty is created in nature. We have had a rather mild winter so far here in Kellogg. I was amazed at how much green was still out in the yard. My rose bushes, under their covering of burlap, look hardly touched by Jack Frost. A bright green patch of moss stands among the brown and dead foilage that surrounds it. Kale is suspended in the same tire that it was planted in last spring. The kale has not given itself totally to the colder, winter temperatures. Some plants have buds already forming, at the end of January. Despite the starkness of most of the yard, I know there is a life teaming underneath the ground, and soon new life will be spring forth. Below are some of the images I captured yesterday while strolling around my backyard. The words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 in The Message Bible were my inspiration for the order of the images in the slideshow. Each image is connected to one of the verses.

3 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

^2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Gathering Graces 1/30/2019

*Through many things I have been reading lately, it seems a theme has been emerging.  This theme has to do with redemption, resurrection, and how often we have things in our lives that die, but that death brings about something even better than there was before.  That is what I love about the message of Jesus.  His message is all about redemption, and resurrection, and bringing back to life those things that are dead, and redeeming the lost, and  doing it all with an unconditional love that I cannot even comprehend.

*As I walked around my backyard today taking photographs, I thought about how that is exactly what happens each winter in my yard.  Things die off.  They get brown and whither.  The leaves fall off the trees.  But during this season, something miraculous happens.  Through the death the plants experience in the fall and winter, there is also new life that is happening underground that we cannot see.  The cold and snow cause a transformation that will eventually create beauty once again in my grasses, plants and trees.  It is a cycle that happens every year.  And often our lives become a part of that cycle.  Sometimes our lives become cold and hard and brittle.  But in the midst of this season, new life is forming.  A new seed is stirring and ready to burst forth, and it has the potential to be more lovely and more beautiful than it was before.  Especially if it soaks in the warmth and water and sunlight offered it.  Often when we find ourselves going through something hard, we want to hide.  We want to run away from the warmth, water and light of those around us who want to help.  When that happens, it hinders our new growth, and the potential for the new beauty that is about the burst forth.  Don’t stay buried under the ground, even if for now it seems a comfortable and safe place to be.  Allow yourself to experience and accept the light, the love, the warmth and the nourishment of those people in your lives to who are willing to surround you with these things.  Let God come in and nourish you as well, and bring you comfort.  It is through the accepting of the love you are being offered that you will bloom and grow like you have never bloomed before. 

*Being around fun and creative students is such a joy.  Today in the drama class we continued to create characters and do little skits, and have a fun time.  What fun to watch the confidence in these students grow and they continue to learn about how to perform and become someone else. 

*One of my favorite “Keto” meals is tacos.  Instead of taco shells, we use Romaine Lettuce leaves.  But I pile everything else on that I love to have on a taco....seasoned hamburger, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole and salsa.  Yum, yum, yum!!!  It is so delicious!!

Gathering Graces 1/29/2019

*This morning as Brighton and I were finishing class, we started talking about the food he will be eating for Chinese New Year.  His mom was next to him helping him answer questions.  Our discussion led to me talking about our Chinese dinner we had on Christmas Eve, and I brought up the photos of all the dishes we served, and showed them to  Brighton and his mom.  I also “met” his mom on camera yesterday, too.  It was such a fun exchange, and I loved sharing with them our love for their culture and their cuisine.

*What a beautiful crisp, clear day.  So crisp that I thought a fire was in order, so I made a fire, and it felt wonderful having a fire burning in the fireplace as I did some work.

*It was fun listening to Emily Proctor being interviews on The West Wing Weekly podcast about her debut on The West Wing, and how fortunate she felt to have been a part of that show.  It is always nice to hear some of what went on behind the scenes with actors while they were a part of the show.  Emily Proctor was the actress who portrayed the character Ainsley Hayes on the show.

*I love studying the epistles of Paul in the Bible.  Today I was focusing on Ephesians, specifically Ephesians 2:4-5.  I love how parts these verses is worded in The Kingdom New Testament.  “My prayer is this:  that he will lay out all the riches of his glory to give you strength and power through his spirit, in your inner being; that the King may make his home in your hearts, through faith, that love may be your root, your firm foundation, and that you may be strong enough (with all God’s holy ones), to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the King’s love--though actually it’s so deep that nobody can really know it!  So may God fill you with all his fullness.”  This is a prayer I have been praying over many people in the last few days who are struggling.  I pray they experience God’s strength and power and love.

Gathering Graces 1/28/2019

*Last week I had asked some of my regular VIPKID student’s parents to have their child prepared to answer questions about how they celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year and Spring Festival.  2019 is The Year of the Pig.  So I decorated my classroom with some pigs, a lantern.  My first student showed me a lantern shaped like a big blue pig head.  It was so cute.  My second student showed me a sign with some Chinese characters on it, and a red box with a pretty gold design.  (red and yellow are special colors for the new year).  And my third student had drawn two pictures and showed them to me.  One was of the special food they eat, including fish, rice, porridge and dumplings.  She also drew a picture of fireworks and firecrackers going off.  Later, this student’s mom emailed me a picture of the two drawings, and some pictures of the student at a snow park in Beijing where they live.  What a wonderful morning talking to the students about how they celebrate this very special holiday in their country and with their family.  I hope to have more conversations with other students throughout the rest of the week.

*Another highlight of my morning was talking with my friend April who lives in Italy.  We try and talk every week, but sometimes our schedules don’t cooperate.  So it had been a few weeks since we had spoken.  It was so nice to get caught up with each other.  April’s departure to Italy left a big hole in my life.  We often met together each week for coffee and a good talk.  I miss that.  So we try and have these online talks take the place of our weekly coffee dates.  These talks are wonderful, but it is never the same as sitting down with someone in person.

*Later in the afternoon I went down and got my classroom ready for the next morning.  As I was setting things up, all of a sudden I was incredibly tired.  So around 6 p.m. I turned to Paul and said, “I am heading to bed.”  I had roasted a chicken earlier in the day.  I asked him if he would cut it up, and put the bones in a bag to be used to make broth at a later date.  Then off to bed I went.  I tried to read a bit, but no such luck.  I was too sleepy.  I am really trying to stay on top of getting enough sleep.  I do not want to get sick. 

Gathering Graces 1/27/2019

*Our whole worship team was together this morning at church to lead our congregation in worship.  This hasn’t happened for quite some time, because of all of our comings and goings.  It was nice to all be together again.

*Our church’s annual meeting was after church, and I think it went well.  We are at an interesting place in our church, moving forward with some changes and I am excited to see where all these changes are going to take us as a congregation.  It has been a very hard year as a church body, but I think we are going to see beauty from ashes as God’s redemption in many things will be revealed this year.  What an exciting time!!

*It was fun getting out my coloring pencils today to color some decorations for my VIPKID classroom.  I am changing the backdrop in my classroom to reflect the Chinese New Year coming  up.  I can’t wait to talk to my students this week and have them share with me their traditions regarding their family’s celebration of Chinese New Year.  I communicated with the parents this past week that I would be asking their students questions about how their family celebrates.  I am looking forward to hearing some of the answers.

*Our rotation of family dinners this month had already occured at each other’s homes.  So we decided to take this opportunity for dinner out tonight.  I thought we could go “old school” and eat at the Broken Wheel.  Unfortunately, when Christy and Everett arrived at the Broken Wheel, it was closed.  Bill was walking down from his house, so when he arrived, he hopped in Christy’s car and they met Paul and I at Radio Brewing Company in uptown Kellogg.  It was a nice time enjoying delicious food and drink and some fun topics of conversation.  Some of this conversation was started by the music playing on the sound system.  The song Fool in the Rain got the conversation going Bill inquiring who was singing the song.  I looked on my Google Pixel phone which has a fun feature of telling you what song and artist you are listening to at any given moment.  This led to talking about Queen songs, and the fact that one of Bill’s early car purchases was a Gremlin.  When the song Sweet Home Alabama started playing, it prompted Bill and I to have a short discussion of our love for a couple of documentaries we both enjoyed watching.  One is called Muscle Shoals, (which is referenced in the lyrics of Sweet Home Alabama), and the other is Twenty Feet From Stardom, a documentary about the power of backup singers.  I saw both streaming on Netflix.  Muscle Shoals is no longer on Netflix, but can be rented through Amazon Prime Video.  Twenty Feet From Stardom is currently on Netflix.  This may not mean anything at all, but if you were to ask our opinion, Bill, Paul and I would highly recommend watching both of these documentaries.

Gathering Graces 1/26/2019

*Our fridge and pantry were a bit like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard....bare.  As the available food began to dwindle, Paul and I started making plans to make a trip to Coeur d’Alene to do some shopping to restock some much needed items at a variety of stores.

*After teaching this morning, I headed back to bed, and got a nice nap in for a couple of hours before we headed out.  It was such a beautiful day.  There was blue skies and sunshine in Coeur d’Alene. And I loved spending the day with Paul.

*We made it to Petco, Fred Meyer, and the Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is one of my favorite stores. It has been the perfect place to buy items for my VIPKID classroom.

*Since Texas Roadhouse was right by Dollar Tree, we decided to eat lunch there. I can’t remember the last time I had a meal there. I had a really delicious New York Strip steak with a Caesar Salad and green beans.  Boy did it hit the spot!  Paul enjoyed some Fried Catfish.  After lunch we headed to Lowes so Paul could check on the prices of some items we will be purchasing in the future.  I stayed in the car and enjoyed the sun shine and the blue skies.

*Our final stop was Costco.  We stocked up on a lot of meat and vegetables.  We should have plenty of food to last us for a couple of months.  When we returned home, I had a couple of hours to relax before I headed downstairs to teach some classes this evening. When we were in Coeur d’Alene, Paul received a call about a church member in the hospital, so he went up to the hospital when we arrived home to see how he could bring comfort to the situation.

*After classes I was tired.  I got all my feedback written and submitted, then prepped for tomorrow’s classes, and headed to bed. 

Gathering Graces 1/25/2019

*This morning I got some things checked off my “to do” list.  That always feels good. 

*A trip to The Bean sounded like a good idea, so I sent a text to Bill and Christy telling them I would be there at 1:30 p.m. if they wanted to come and join me.  Bill said he was in CDA and would not be able to join me.  Christy said she would be there.  We had a fun visit about books, and traveling, and it was good to hear the news that Everett was feeling much better!!

*I really think all the pain I have been experiencing these past few weeks has to do with my tooth.  The more I thought about it, the more it makes sense.  I hope to have a conversation with my dentist on Monday, and see, if this is the case, what the next steps will be to fix this darn tooth!!!

*We got a call from Zoe, telling us her “apartment water issues” have come to an end.  Last week she discovered there was a broken pipe and water was running in her basement.  The city came and shut her water off.  She called her property management people and they had three plumbers come and take a look and give estimates.  She was thinking this was going to be a long, drawn out process to get it fixed.  But on Friday the plumber called and said it was fixed.  There was much rejoicing all around!!

*With the beautiful snow fall on Wednesday, it has been fun sharing photos from that day with my students in China.  They all have a similar reaction..it is beautiful!!  I tell them I agree!!  I love sharing with them about the snow, and Silver Mountain, and all the winter activities we do around here.  Not many of them get snow where they live, so it is fun to share these activities with them.  I see where China is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics.  This will be fun to have a conversation about that with them in the future.