Gathering Graces 12/23/2018

*The Christmas program at church this morning was perfect.  Sweet and simple and full of the Christmas story of how baby Jesus came to earth to save us all.  I loved it!!  And it was a joy to sing with Zoe and Cosette at church.

*The kitchen was busy in the afternoon roasting chickens, making Fried Cookies, and Spicy Pickles for our Christmas Eve dinner.

*We had a wonderful treat later in the day when our friend Wyatt Sepa-Newell arrived for a visit.  He lives in New York City, and is home to spend Christmas with his family.  It was so good to get a hug from him, and get caught up on his life. 

*It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

Gathering Graces 12/22/2018

*Today the Christmas spirit was in full swing at our house, with lots of elves doing many preparations for the big day.

*Zoe flew in early this morning from Boise, and Paul went and picked her up at the airport, and then they spent some time doing some shopping.

*Cosette was the driving force behind making “Nuts and Bolts”, and family tradition going back to when Grandma Woolum started making them sometime back in the early 1960’s.  It is a variation of what is now known as Chex Mix.  Grandma made them for years, then Mom took over making them at Christmas.  This was always one of Cosette’s favorite Christmas treats, so she was bestowed the large roasting pan and Mom’s recipe for making this treat.  Here she is in the early preparations with Taylor.  Zoe also helped throughout the process as well.  It was a bit of a group effort.  It took about three hours to completely cook, and it was worth it!!  We got to taste them fresh out of the oven, and they were delicious!!  And we have plenty to snack on for the next week or so.

*Around 1 p.m. Bill and Christy arrived to help with the next Christmas treat, the Tom and Jerry batter.  This is something our dad made for many years at Christmastime, and it always seemed like it was quite a production when he made it.  For one, it was the one and only time I remember seeing Dad actually preparing something other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the kitchen.  But now that I have made it a few time, I realize there is a knack to getting it right.  And I messed up a bit yesterday.  Oh, it was okay, but I need to do a little tweaking.  The recipe involves separating eggs, whipping egg whites, beating egg yolks and then mixing the two together.  I think I may try it again and have a fresh batch for our gathering on Christmas Eve, and see if I can do a little better!

*We gathered by the fireplace to practice some songs we will be singing in church during the Christmas program.  Paul got out his guitar, we determine that Zoe and Cosette would come and sing with us, and we narrowed down our selections to three songs to share the next morning.  We will sing a version of It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, In The Bleak Midwinter and The Christ Child Lullaby.  I got my flute out, and I will play flute on the last two numbers.  I love being able to sing with the girls at this time of year. And Saphire seemed to like the music as well.

Gathering Graces 12/21/2018

*Today I felt like I am finally moving out of the “will I get everything done?” Christmas groove, to “Hey, I think it is going to be okay” Christmas groove.  Just a ,few Christmas cards still need delivered, but most of them have been mailed or hand delivered.  Whew!!

*Our former neighbor Jackson and I have started our own Christmas tradition.  We get together, enjoy some Christmas treats, and I get him some new books.  I read to him from one of his new books, and we also read some Christmas books, including one of my favorites, How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  It was a wonderful time, and it was fun catching up with my young little fourth grade friend!!

*Because I am caught up on my Christmas To Do list, when Molly, Cosette, Taylor and Saphire arrived tonight, we were able to relax and enjoy being with one another and have a nice evening together.

*I had a wonderful quick visit from my dear friend Kellee.  She dropped off some Christmas presents, and I gave her one too.  Then we made plans to get together after the first of the year. We have some other presents and Christmas business to take care of then. She was on her way to Kalispell to join her daughter Melanie for the night.  They are then flying off to Boise in the morning to spend Christmas with her other daughter Megan.  What a wonderful time for them all to be together!!

Gathering Graces 12/17/2018

*I am glad I had my book group lunch here on Friday, because that meant the house is still picked up, and not much was needed to do today to prepare for the Sixth Street Theater Board Christmas Party we hosted tonight.  Instead of a lot of cleaning, all I had to do was focus on the food preparation.

*After making my list of things I needed, I headed uptown to the Post Office to get some stamps and then stopped in at the drug store, that used to be Sunnyside Drug, but is now called something else.  It is basically in the same location, just on the other side of the building.  I found a few things I couldn’t live without at the store.

*Yokes was my final stop to get items to make spaghetti, meatballs and red sauce, and a green salad.  This was an delicious and easy meal to make for dinner tonight.  I love meatballs, and I should make them more often.  They were delicious.  I can’t eat pasta much anymore, so I enjoyed the meatballs with the red sauce over them.  Other board members brought other goodies to share for dinner, and we had a really great selection of food to eat tonight.

*Paul is still a member of the theater board.  I resigned at the end of last year since I knew I would be having some changes coming in my life.  I don’t regret my decisions, but I do miss seeing the people on the board as often as I used to.  What a wonderful group of people, and I am so glad they gathered at our home last night to eat, talk and have a fun gift exchange.  It was a wonderful evening.  Thanks for a great evening Ken, Cherri, Norma, Anita, Terri, Indy, and Mike.  Paul and I enjoyed having you in our home.  And Paul and I received some wonderful gifts from some of our very talented board members.  I received a homemade wreath made by Norma, and Paul received a beautiful Christmas ornament made by Indy.

*Christy saw her primary care provider today and was told she may need to go to Coeur d’Alene to see her doctor who treated her wound at Kootenai Medical Center.  Fortunately, when his nurse called her back, they had a different treatment option, and Christy will go on Wednesday for her regularly scheduled appointment to see her doctor then.  It has been a rough couple of days for Christy.  We are praying things will begin being more comfortable for her soon.

Gathering Graces 12/20/2018

*I got certified to do a couple more kinds of VIPKID classes today.  Now I am certified to teach nine different kinds of classes.  Since I have taught 400 classes, it opened up a whole lot more opportunities to teach other kinds of classes.

*This afternoon I went to Kellogg Middle School to let students know about the Theater Program I will be doing as part of the KMS WISE After School program.  I will start it in January, after students return from Christmas Break, and go until the end of March, before they leave for Spring Break.  I talked to two of Joy Persoon’s choir classes, and her drama class.  Many of the students thought we looked a lot alike, and that we were sisters.  Which I took as a big compliment!!

*As I was folding clothes in the bedroom, I decided to pop in one of “The West Wing” DVD’s.  I started the Season 1 Christmas episode In Excelsis Deo.  I have seen this over ten times, and I cry each time I watch it, because it is a very moving story about love and respect.  It always touches my heart.

*Around 6 p.m. I was wiped out.  I was in bed by 7:30 p.m. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!!

Gathering Graces 12/19/2018

*I got some Christmas cards in the mail today, and then headed west to do some shopping.  It was nice to have an afternoon to do some leisurely shopping to finish my preparations for our family’s arrival for Christmas.

*My first stop was the Best Asian Market, located on Sprague Avenue in Spokane. (Thanks for the recommendation Amy!)  I loved this little market.  It was like stepping into another country.  I was able to find almost everything I needed to make my part of our Chinese Christmas Eve dinner.  If I didn’t find exactly what I needed, I did find a substitute.  I want to go back and do some more exploring of this place!!

*Next I headed to Total Wine.  Total Wine can be a bit overwhelming, but it is fun when I have the time to just wander through the aisles and see what is on the shelves.  And that was the case today.  I loved it.

*Once in Coeur d’Alene, my first stop was the Dollar Store.  I found all kinds of great items here.  I love this store. 

*My next list was for Costco.  I made my way through the holiday displays and found my normal monthly items I purchase along with some other things to help with Christmas preparations.

*My last stop was Fred Meyer.  I think I just about got everything that was on my list.  I did make some modifications, but overall, I think my shopping is done.  Woo Hoo!!  What a good feeling.

Gathering Graces 12/18/2018

*It was a weird day today.  It was really dark and gloomy outside, and I felt kind of dark and gloomy inside.  Not a major funk, but a minor funk.

*When Paul arrived home, I was in complete darkness in the house, except where some of the Christmas lights were on, and I was listening to an awesome book by Shana Neiquist called Cold Tangerines.  Listening to this book perked me up a little bit.

*Dinner was on our own with leftovers from dinner the night before.  I rallied, and put White Christmas on the television, and sat down and made a bookmark to send to one of my VIPKID students in China, and started addressing Christmas card envelopes.  I also started making a list of things I needed for a shopping trip tomorrow.  I at least got a few things accomplished today. 

Gathering Graces 12/16/2018

*It was fun to sit in the fellowship hall after church and reminisce with Simon Miller and others about growing up in the Silver Valley and how things have changed, and things we remembered from growing up here in the valley.  It really was a wonderful place to grow up.

*It felt good to have a nap this afternoon before heading over to Bill’s house for family dinner.

*Bill served us a delicious bowl of seafood chowder and a marinated vegetable salad.  Both were delicious.  The evening began with a Brandy and Amaretto cocktail that was also delightful.  It was fun visiting with everyone and getting caught up on how everyone’s week had gone.  Continue to keep Christy in your thoughts and prayers.  She has a couple of doctor’s appointments this week and hopefully things are healing as they should be.

*I readied my menu and grocery list for tomorrow as I prepare for the Sixth Street Theater Board Christmas party we will be hosting at our house.  It is always a fun time with this wonderful group of people.  On the menu....spaghetti, red sauce, meatballs and green salad.  Everyone else will bring things to accompany this meal.  We also have a fun gift exchange as well.

*Most of the time Paul sleeps right through my VIPKID lessons. But the other morning, I was asking my student, “What do you do with your head?”  Paul was awake for this question, and he couldn’t for the life of him, figure out what you do with your head.  Soon, the answer came....”Oh...I nod with my head!!”

*The Amazon Italy package arrived at April’s house....success!!  I was so happy to hear from her that it had arrived!!  And again, super impressed with myself that I made it happen!!  (As my friend Tina says...I am a tech wizard....LOL).

*One of our teacher friends who lives out of state sent us a Christmas card, and when I opened up the card, inside it said, “Lori..I think you are simply amazing.”  This teacher had a student help her put the cards in the envelopes, and the student did not check to see if the correct cards were going into the correct envelopes.  So everyone on her Christmas card list received someone else’s card.  This became clear when she sent out a Facebook Message today to explain what had happened.  I sent her a message and told her she should make this an annual Christmas tradition...and each year we would wonder whose Christmas card we would be receiving!!

*We received a text from daughter Molly telling us that she had had her exit interview, and has now officially graduated from Lewis Clark State College with a degree in Education.  She is certified to teach Kindergarted through 8th Grade in regular education, and kindergarten through 12th grade in Special Education.  Paul and I are so very proud of her!!  We know she is going to be an awesome teacher!!  She will be participating in a small graduation ceremony next spring for the LCSC graduates in Coeur d’Alene at North Idaho College.

Gathering Graces 12/15/2018

*I was all set to do Christmas cards today, but there seemed to be one stumbling block after another.  First my spreadsheet with the address list was on my old computer and I had to track it down, find the list, and put it in a Google spreadsheet.  Then I went to print out my Christmas letter, and my black ink ran out on my printer.  So, needless to say, I did not get my Christmas cards done today.  Well, I guess I have another week to work on them!!

*One thing I did get accomplished was moving my VIPKID classroom back downstairs.  Paul took a break from painting and reflooring one of our basement bedrooms to help me get my classroom set back up. (No more sign of mice!!)  I have been reading about how some teachers teach their classes standing up, and I have decided to try this.  For the past few months I have had a horrible knot in my upper back because of the way I sit when I teach.  So tonight was my first go at teaching standing up, and I really liked it.  Only time will tell!!

*I worked on other odds and ends projects throughout the day, and, before I knew it, it was almost 5 p.m., time to teach some classes, then eat dinner, then time for bed.  For having a whole day set aside to do Christmas cards and not completing them, it seemed like a didn’t get a whole lot accomplished.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Gathering Graces 12/14/2018

*I spent the morning preparing for my Huckleberry Book Club that I was hosting today for lunch.  It was fun to make the dining room table look festive!!  I prepared a Hot Chicken Salad for an entree.  I also served some of the Huckleberry Liqueur I had made.  I thought it only fitting that the Huckleberry Book Club should toast our time together with some huckleberry liqueur.  It was delicious!!  I now have a good amount of Christmas goodies, as we always do an annual Christmas cookie exchange, and some lovely gifts from the ladies.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  This month I selected a book by Maria Shriver called  I’ve Been
Thinking...:Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life.  We all enjoyed the words to ponder and meditate over in each little snippet of writing she does throughout the book.

*After all the ladies left, I cleaned up the kitchen and prepared for the classes I would be teaching this evening.

*Once the classes were done tonight, I was ready to go to bed.

Gathering Graces 12/13/2018

*The morning started off at the Uptown Salon with my hair getting a cut and color.  Always a fun touch for the holidays!!  Christy showed up toward the end of my appointment to get pampered with both a manicure and a pedicure.  She deserved that pampering today!!

*Returning home, I kicked it into high gear, and had a very productive afternoon.  I roasted a chicken to put in my Hot Chicken Salad recipe that I will be serving for book group tomorrow.  I canned some jars of Lavendar Wine Jelly and Herbs de Provence Wine Jelly.  I channeled my mother and made one of her Christmas cookie favorites, Seven Layer Cookies along with some Heath Bar Cookies.  It felt great to be bustling around the kitchen all day!!

*I have wanted to send my friend April, who lives in Italy, a present, but shipping can be very expensive.  After she told me about her using Amazon to ship presents here in the U.S., I thought I could do the same, only in reverse!!  So I was very proud of myself as I navigated my way through the Italian amazon.it website, with a lot of help from Google translate, and found gifts for April and ordered them, only paid $4 for shipping, and, if all goes well and I did it correctly, the package should arrive on her doorstep on December 19th!!  How cool is that? 

Gathering Graces 12/12/2018

*I was out and about some this morning, picking up some books at Pinehurst Elementary.  Then I went to KHS and finished up some ceramic projects so they can be fired.  It was nice getting those projects complete.

*My book group is going to have lunch here on Friday, along with a cookie exchange.  Since it was on my mind, I brought out Mom’s recipe box and looked through for some cookie ideas for the cookie exchange.  I think I found a couple of winners to share with the other women on Friday.  We are also hosting the Sixth Street Theater board Christmas  party on Monday, so I finalized what that menu will be. 

*It was fun running into Rachel Weaver at Yokes while I was shopping for groceries.  She is the new counselor at KHS, and we talked briefly how things were going for her.

*Tonight Brandon “Bran Muffin” Church came to visit.  He was in town for a couple days on his days off from working as a dispatcher in Montana.  It was fun to catch up with him, and find out he is doing some studying to become an EMT as well.  He also wanted to know about my online teaching, so I shared some stories with him about some of my students, and showed him some videos of my teaching.  We had a wonderful, wonderful visit.

Gathering Graces 12/11/2018

*Each year part of my Christmas festivities includes Chapter M’s P.E.O. Christmas party.  The members gather together and enjoy a delicious potluck dinner, have a Christmas Carol sing-a-long, and do a gift exchange.  We also receive our annual P.E.O ornament created by some of our P.E.O. members.  It was a wonderful, cheery way to spend a rather rainy and drizzly evening last night.

*I finally got the Christmas Eve menu and recipes sent to those friends and family members who needed it.  Boy did that feel good.  One more thing checked off my Christmas “To Do” list.

*There are three women in my life who are my friends, and their names are all April.  I sometimes refer to them as April#1, April #2 and April #3.  Today was one of those rare occasions that I had conversations with all three of them.  The morning started out talking to April #1, who lives in Italy.  We often try and talk once a week, and get caught up.  In the afternoon, I had a phone conversation with April #2, who lives in Meridian.  Keep April #2 in your prayers.  Her family is going through a tough time right now.  Later in the afternoon I went to shop at our local grocery store Yokes, and ran into April #3, who was also doing some shopping.  We had a nice little visit in the midst of both of our shopping trip.  I love and appreciate each one of these women, and glad they are all a part of my life.

*Someone posted the passing of one of my former high school teachers.  Mary Rae Faraca passed away on December 8. (If you would like to see her obituary, you can find it here.)  I had Mary Rae for English, Speech and she directed me in numerous drama plays and drama competitions throughout high school.  Some of the highlights of my time at Kellogg High School involved drama productions Mrs. Faraca directed.  She will always hold a very special place in my heart.  Prayers go out to her husband Ray, who was also one of my teachers, and her family.  This marks the passage of two people from my neighborhood growing up that have passed away this year.  Recently, Julie Ann Kenyon Taylor also passed away.  The Kenyons and Faracas lived kitty corner from one another on Riverside Avenue.  We had a great group of families living in our neighborhood growing up, and a lot of fun and fond memories.

Gathering Graces 12/10/2018

*On Sunday evening when we were having family dinner, Mom’s Nuts and Bolts recipe came up.  We found one recipe that Mom had written down, but it was hard to read in places.  We knew Cosette had nabbed one from Mom’s recipe box, along with the roasting pan Mom used to make the Nuts and Bolts in.  Christy got a hold of Cosette, asking if she had the other copy of the recipe.  Cosette thought the recipe and the roasting pan were in her bedroom closet at our house.  (Why wouldn’t it be there?)  I told Cosette the roasting pan was in the basement, but the recipe card was not with the roasting pan.  As I am talking on the phone with Cosette, I tell her the last time I remember seeing the recipe, it was on the kitchen counter.  I move look past the utensil holder on my counter, and see a recipe card in a random copper napkin holder hid back in the corner of the kitchen counter.  Guess what the recipe was?  Yes, it was the Nuts and Bolts recipe we were looking for.  You have got to love my filing system!!  (Just for the record, the recipe card is now back in Mom’s recipe file so when Cosette comes home and makes Nuts and Bolts, it will be there for her.)

*Today was the day, 34 years ago, that Paul asked me to marry him.  He proposed to me in the living of the Delta Delta Delta sorority at the University of Idaho.  He recited Shakespeare’s 29th Sonnet and then got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I have never regretted saying “yes” to this question. Not once.

*It has been a process, but I finally got a schedule down for the week of Christmas, and the menu finalized for our Chinese Christmas Eve dinner.  Tomorrow I will send it out to family members and friends who will be attending so they can make plans to prepare their contributions to the feast.

*Last night was a wonderful gathering at the Real Women of the Silver Valley. This gathering has been a real need in my life for some time.  Debbie Holland’s words are such an encouragement each time, and it is just what my soul and spirit have been needing to hear. 

Gathering Graces 12/9/2018

*This morning at church I sang one of my favorite Christmas carols, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, a fitting song for the second Sunday of advent, that focuses on Peace.  This Christmas carol, based on the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, is based on Longfellow’s experience during the Civil War, and what his heart was feeling at the time.

On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow—a 57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him. He heard the Christmas bells that December day and the singing of “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14), but he observed the world of injustice and violence that seemed to mock the truthfulness of this optimistic outlook. The theme of listening recurred throughout the poem, eventually leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair.

I think we can all use the message of this poem and this song....in the world we live in today, as back in the days of the Civil War, we can all use a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair.  Peace on Earth....Good Will To Men.

*Paul and I attended the sold out final of the three performances of Christmas at Sixth Street at the Sixth Street Theater in Wallace.  Under the direction of Norma Douglas, and written by Douglas and  Jesaray Harpel, a fun cast told the story of The Night Before, The Night Before Christmas Eve. Some of Paul’s drama students were in it, as well as some other people I have worked with on stage and in film.  It was a fun show with lots of fun Christmas music and sing-a-longs to get you in the Christmas spirit!! 

*When we got back home, Paul and I put some more finishing touches on the decorations for Christmas.  Then we started preparing the tacos that we would be serving for our family dinner tonight.  They hit the spot and were enjoyed by everyone.  A family member had requested a copy of Mom’s famous Nuts and Bolts recipe, so I grabbed Mom’s recipe file to see if it was in there.  It was!!  And as I looked through the recipes, and Bill looked through the box with household tips, we had fun remembering some of the recipes made that were in the recipe box.  Oh, and Nuts and Bolts were a Christmas snack staple around our house for as long as I can remember.  Grandma Woolum was the one who discovered the recipe, and then Mom took over making them too, many years before it became more popularly known as Chex Mix.

Gathering Graces 12/8/2018

*”Alexa” played Christmas music for us throughout the day as our home was transformed for Christmas!!  The tree is decorated.  The gifts are under the tree.  The Santa Claus collection is all in place.  The lights are in the front window and Paul replaced the outside lights as well.  I have a few more things to put up tomorrow, and then we should be good.

*Christmas decorating for me is a time to remember past Christmases.  Many of the ornaments and decorations evoke fond memories of Christmas holiday’s in the past.  That is one of the reasons I love Christmas.  It is a constant in my life.  There are certain traditions we keep each year through decorating that connect me to the past...to my mom, my dad, my grandmas and other friends and family I don’t see that often.  I like having that connection.

*Paul spent some time today over at Christy and Everett’s house putting up Christmas decoration in front of their house.  It looks very festive!!  Then he came home and took some of the birch wood from the tree we cut down and stacked it above the rail on our patio, and put two windows on either side to give a bit of a wind break.  This may help keep things warmer by the sliding glass door this winter.  While moving the wood, he did unearth, what he believes to be a mouse nest in the wood.  This could be why we had a mouse in the basement.  But there has been no signs of a mouse for a couple of weeks.  I am hoping Clark took care of it. I really hate it when he kills the birds in our yard.  But he can hunt as many mice as he likes!!