The Shopper

I was recently bemoaning to Mhari how there are no good Craig's list items around here and how people use things until they wear out rather than selling them (to grateful people like me) and buying newer models.

We've been scouring the Shopper hoping for appliances (I did get some nice cabinets and Chris got us a freezer), but literally people wait at the distribution building the morning it comes out and you're lucky if the item you want is still there by mid-morning. I'm not that ambitious. But really, you can buy or sell anything in this paper, I found the above ad too humorous not to share.

another beautiful turn

This past week Kara invited me to join her and some of her other mom friends for an ongoing book club. All of the pre-school and toddler age kids played around the house while the moms chatted it up. In total there were 8 kids to 5 moms and it worked out surprisingly well. Joachim spent his time enamored with the dog and Mr. Potato head. I am so thankful. What's more, when we move into our house, we will be able to walk to the club! God has been so faithful in filling the needs of my heart.
And the house? I've been asked a number of times when the move in date is. Sometime in March I think is realistic. Our house remodel has been 2 steps forward, 1 step back, but it's looking better and better!

knit together!

Sometime in December I was feeling really bad for myself the scarcity of female companionship. I expressed to my dear friend Katherine how I envied the mother's book club she attended and the craft night she participated in once a month. 'There's nothing like that here,' I complained. I know the church once tried a book club and there was enthusiastic interest, but a meager then non-existent turnout. Katherine simply said I should organize something, oh yeah, just that easy, I put myself out there with a bunch of women I don't even know and then nurse my wounded ego when no one comes. Eleni seconded Katherine suggestion and pointed out that I need to get over myself and my fear of rejection. After Ben's friend recommended reading "The Friday Night Knitting Club," I was sold on giving it a try.

I asked Janet if she'd open her home because I love her cozy farmhouse and then I started to ask around church to gauge the interest. As it turned out, there was actually lots of interest, each woman had a project tucked away for years that she'd like to work on, but just never had the time. In fact, when we did convene Beth won the prize for bringing the oldest project, a floral cross-stitch for her parents 50th wedding anniversary (which was 11 years ago). I brought a pair of Valentine socks I started for Ben before Joachim was born (maybe I'll finish them for this year).

Well, it was a lovely night with nine women in attendance, Donna even completed a vest that she'd put off for 4 years! It was so interesting see all the projects and especially getting the demonstration of Janet's new sock machine. It's an exact replica of one from the late 1800's and it's fascinating. She said there were home business scams even then, because included were reprints of the original flyers for the machine claiming that wives could have their own home business making socks, but think about, up until this machine, socks were all knit by hand! It looks easy in the following video, but I understand the heel and toe are challenging to master... she also finished assembling her first sock!

Janet's knitting machine

Some mornings are just absurd

Tuesday morning I was feeling very maternal made gingerbread men to indulge Joachim’s love of the kitchen. Even though the cookies were for a different purpose, the process was all his. I patiently scooped out baking soda that he poured from the box into the bowl, leaving what I estimated to be a teaspoon. I didn’t interfere when his wild stirring threw flour everywhere, and I accepted each and every mutilated and dismembered little man he scraped from the counter and mashed onto the cookie eet. I have to admit, I was feeling pretty proud of the whole experience and actually optimistic about the outcome, I thought maybe I could take these cookies to the knitting circle, they’d even be cute.

While they baked, I left the oven light on so Joachim could monitor the progress, it was when they finished that it all fell apart. I removed the top rack cookie sheet no problem but, because Joachim was standing next to me, I didn’t open the oven all the way and when I pulled out the bottom rack I tilted it a little too much. Gingerbread men and parchment paper slid down together and landed cookie side down on the bottom element. The paper instantly went *poof* into flames. I grabbed a corner and lifted it to the sink, the cookies were on fire and smoke was billowing into the kitchen. The smoke detector was blaring and Joachim was crying, all in an instant. Then I had a strange moment where I didn’t know what to do first. In that moment I had time enough to consider the stories I’d heard of people who acted quickly and smartly and saved the day, I even had time to consider if I was one of those people.

So what did I do first? I turned the oven off. Smart move. I then tried to salvage a few cookies from beneath the blazing cookies stuck to the element. Not so smart. So I closed the oven door and picked up my upset baby (smart), dragged a chair over to he smoke detector and disarmed it. Then with my monkey child cling-on in one arm I heroically scraped the flaming cookies off the element with a metal spatula (smart) (I thought better of the plastic spatula I first picked up).

We weren’t in danger, but it was sad to lose the pan of cookies and now all my freshly washed clothes smell like smoke. On the other hand, Monday morning was actually worse, at least this morning had a comical element.
What entry would be complete without the token picture. Here are some of the salvaged cookies, they looked pretty much like that going in.
I don’t remember having so many days like this before I had a kid.

New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve we had a wonderful time with friends and family at John’s Birthday party. I'm very grateful to get together like this because I still don’t really feel like I fit in most of the time. My social circle in Delta is very small which has been an adjustment for me. We had Shelby’s hot wings and Chris’ Monte Cristos (true confession, I didn’t have a single hotwing and Ben had to finish my monte cristo), but it was fun to watch the thrill of everyone else burning. Here are the hot wings deep fryin’ away and David overseeing them.It was nice the boys cooked, while the girls dined
Tristen and I sharing a moment with the camera.

Christmas goodies

For Christmas day I made mushroom meringues to go on the chocolate yule log Matushka made. It’s a little overgrown, but I made a mushroom for everyone.
Joachim LOVES working in the kitchen, I mean loves it. Grandma put an apron on him in lieu of a bib one evening and it deteriorated into tragic disappointment when he realized he was not going to bake bread as he was dragged from the kitchen in tears. So, grandma made him his very own apron which he adores.
The Spiderman paraphernalia is from Chase who keeps Joachim in the know about such important action figures. When Joachim does one day see Spiderman on TV it’s going to knock his socks off.and Joachim and his cool race car from Auntie & Uncle.

more of Christmas

So, I realized our Christmas pictures have no other people in them. Really, we were surrounded by family and friends, I'm just too embarrassed pull out my camera and I’m always self-conscious of document the memory at the expense of savoring the moment. I did find some pictures on our church website to share, thank you Joe.
The children singing Christmas carols.
Sometimes I consider my passionate photographing in relation to my grandmother who has only a few pictures from her childhood or my Amish friend who has no pictures of any of her children. I try to reign in m documenting, but I also just plain like taking pictures. I hardly have photography skills, (although, I’d like to take a class of two), but I like the art and I like recording my life. I like to have reference points for where I’ve been and where I’m going. I love looking back at my pictures all the way back to my box of pictures from middle school.

They will be boring and meaningless to whoever is stuck with them when I die, but to me they are a connection to myself. While traveling in Spain my journal with most of my year in Russia was stolen (it was in a bag, I’m sure the thief didn’t really want it). Five years later it still hurts to miss that piece of me. I don’t know, maybe we aren’t supposed to hold on to the past so closely. But still, thanks to digital cameras I take lots of pictures and thanks to blogspot I can organize them for my memories (and to share with you, my friends) :)

the bells ring out

These are some of our faithful bell ringers. Christmas morning they got a little out of sync, but even so they rang with purity and joy. The bells of the churches and monasteries are something I miss most in Russia. They have some outstanding ringing rhythms and monks who specialize in it (although ours are beautiful in their humble expression).