I'll be home for Christmas...if I can get out of Seattle

In my last posting I was greatly anticipating Steve’s arrival on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Steve was one of the poor souls that were stuck right in the middle of Seattle’s debilitating winter storms. At 9:30 pm on December 20th his direct flight to Medford was cancelled. All the hotels were booked. He and a thousand others were made to exit the terminal and wait in the airport lobby. No restaurants were open. All the benches and chairs were taken. He stood in line upon line, only to discover that he was rebooked for a flight on the 23rd and was on standby for a 4 pm flight the next day to Portland, with a Medford connecting flight. He found a corner of tile and curled up for the night, feeling sorrier for the families and elderly that were in the same position he was. He awoke the next day with a bruised tailbone, scruffy-face and no closer to home. The mounted displayed boards blinked continually with cancelled flights. At 10 am he decided to make a break for it and drive through the storm. Surprisingly, a rental car was not hard to come by. They quickly handed him the keys to a red four door striped down Dodge and wished him luck. From the onset he had battled to locate his luggage. He had to leave Seattle with the employee confirmation that his bag would be on the next flight Medford. He drove through the eye of the storm, some how evading the demands for chains. From Seattle to Salem he drove 30 to 20 miles per hour. At one point he called to ask if I could check to see if there was any end to the snow. I called my friend Kelly and with her help and Trip Check, I reassured him that south of Salem was clear. He cruised at a good pace and our weary traveler landed at the front door at 8pm. Thankfully, he made it home safely and with only a day lost of his vacation. Although, today is the 27th and he still doesn’t have his luggage.

Merry Christmas!

Mom has played the piano and organ for the Veterans Domiciliary Chapel for 34 years, all holidays included. I have grown up attending this church every Sunday and Christmas, sitting in the front pew next to my father. From a very young age I performed pieces on the violin, piano and singing for the gracious Veteran congregations. This year, with Mom on the piano bench, I joined her once again this time with by sweet husband by my side. We took our song book and I sang some classic Christmas pieces before the service started. So much has changed over the years; the building, the pastor and the decorations and yet ,many things have remained the same. The hymns, the Biblical story and even the nativity scene is one I have gazed upon my entire life.
It was an evening rich in memories... new and old.

Christmas day was spent baking and cooking and get ready for this....I loved it! Steve and I spent days reading over recipe books, picking out yummy ingreduents and creating a savory menu. With the cost of getting home, we didn’t exchange gifts this year, so the meal was our gift to each other and to those that joined us.

Mom supplied a Harry and David turkey; serenaded by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and the jazz musicians from the Blue Note, we made sweet potatoes with apples drenched in butter and brown sugar, roasted beets, green beans, stuffing, cabbage salad, deviled eggs, Waldorf salad and a home-made pumpkin spiced loaf for dessert.
We invited Mom and Dad’s friends John and Mary Beatty for dinner and after dinner our neighbor’s across the street, John, Shirley and Rob, joined us for dessert. We ended the evening with all of us singing Christmas carols while drinking eggnog and spiced cider. When all went home...Steve and I drove Mom back to Talent. (She had had only three hours of sleep the night before and has been known to fall asleep at the wheel.) Steve and I came back to a quiet house and a slew of dirty dishes. When the last platter was tucked away in its spot we sat down with a glass of eggnog (laced with whiskey) and stayed up till midnight talking about life. I loved it. The entire day was joy.


Side Note:
This is the first Christmas holiday that I have spent away from Drew. I really had to make up my mind not to let his absence negatively affect our holiday. Not a second goes by that I didn’t think of him or wish that he could have been with us. I talk to him every day and he is having a great time with his dad. It is some comfort to know that if he can’t be with us, at least he is enjoying himself. A special Merry Christmas to my sweet son, Andrew.

Happy 63rd Wedding Anniversary!

The view from the dining room window this morning is trees, ground and patio furniture covered with five inches of snow, icicles hanging two feet from the edge of the roof and a front walkway covered in ice. We are not back in Alaska....we are in Klamath Falls. We made the trip yesterday to celebrate Steve’s parents’ 63rd wedding anniversary. We were joined by his sister and two brothers, their spouses and children. The house was abuzz with the traditional sights and sounds of a festive family gathering, complete with busy toddlers providing hours of adult entertainment. Aside from a delicious meal of sweet potatoes, salad

and homemade desserts (...plus a slow roasted ham for the non-vegetarians), we all engaged in a white elephant gift exchange.

Quirky and "useful "gifts were up for grabs...among the treasures;

a glass, green turkey bowl, pink wine bottle opener, a

tie adorned with

chili-peppers and a foot massage pillow. We ended up with a camouflage lighter and a decorative shot glass with a figure of a hunter and his dog in the middle yelling for his gun. (hmmmmm...a possible re-gift for my big brother Hank) The entire evening was a touching expression of what an positive contribution a loving marriage gives to the world.

Back in Oregon!

Home at last!

Andrew and I made it to Oregon.

We had a picture-perfect flight from Hoonah to Juneau ….unbelievably beautiful. We flew on a clear day with the full moon to the right and the sun

coming over the snowy peaks to the left. Andrew said with excitement, “Mom, we are flying above the sun!” He was all smiles, circling in his seat, trying to take in the massive expanse of

mountains, water and ever changing colors of the sunrise. Upon decent in to Juneau, we had a perfect view of the Mendenhal Glacier.

The challenging part of the trip came on the last leg with a 10:30 pm flight cancellation to Medford. I was determined to make the best of the situation, knowing that no amount of anger or complaining would get us a plane to Medford. Thankfully, the airlines put us up in a hotel. We finally settled into our room about 1 am. We ended having to fly from Seattle to Portland and then to Medford. We made it a good time playing, eating and window shopping in the airports. Mom greeted us at 2pm with arms wide open.

It was great to see Mom and to be home. Andrew and I have missed her greatly. On the flip side...I believe all home comings are some what bitter-sweet. Living in Hoonah, the passing of time and the lessons God has revealed to me… have changed me. The idea of "home" has changed as well. Those deeps thoughts I'll save for another post :)

Now - on to the fun stuff...

We went to church with Mom, enjoyed the pot-luck and afterward Andrew cornered Grandma for a piano lesson. He was dying to show off all he had learned from his Hoonah piano teacher.

Andrew and I dashed off to spend the afternoon with our friends,

Kelly, Shane and their four kiddos…Ryan, Sarah, Matthew and Ben. Andrew went to preschool with Ryan and have been best friends ever since.

Monday we woke up to two inches of fresh snow. Already sick of being cooped up in a car and house, we bundled our selves up and went to play in Lithia Park in Ashland. We drank hot chocolate, walked the paths of the park and got in a great snowball fight. Of course, I had my camera and I tried to be a savvy nature photographer.

More fun afternoons were spent playing with dates with Ryan, Sarah and Andrew Hall. Legos seems to be the obsession with these boys. Here, Andrew and Andrew and pictures with their latest battleships.

Aside from watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, another passion my mom and Andrew share is playing cards. These two go at it all the time. It is fun to hear them laughing and shouting from the other room. They play King on the Corner, Spit, Slap Jack, Double Solitaire and a new one involving Kings. Mom is a fierce competitor, so Andrew earns his wins legitimately…making all those victories very sweet.

Andrew met up with Santa this week and asked him for all sorts of video game stuff, including a “Wii.” His wish came true. I just got a call from Andrew saying that Santa came to his dad’s house early and delivered a “Wii” Andrew said he stayed up last night until 12 midnight playing golf.

Singing for residents in retirement homes at Christmas time is a family tradition. With Mom as my accompanist, I sang a few opera and operetta pieces, patriotic and religious songs, and some Christmas favorites. This year, Andrew played the piano as well as singing Jingle Bells in Tlinget. He did a great job!

Friday, Andrew’s dad picked him up. He will be having more great adventures with his dad until January 2^nd. Steve arrives in Medford tonight, December 20^th. He is really anxious to get home and relax. I am soooo excited to see him! Andrew, Steve and I plan celebrate Christmas and my mom's 79th birthday January 3rd.

It has a been a great week. Thanks for reading. I hope all you are enjoying the season with family and friends. We wish you all the best. We send you all lots of hugs and kisses!

It's the Final Count Down

Today we are at our three month mark of living in Hoonah. With the holidays just around the corner, I am definitely in the final count down mode. At the time of this posting, Andrew and I have only seven days until we land in Oregon! We are both very excited about seeing close family and friends. Although, I thought it was cute when I asked Andrew what he wanted to do when we went home, and one of the first things out his mouth was, “Let’s go see everybody at New 10.” That was a surprising addition to the agenda.

Grandma has taken some time to set up a few performances at some retirement home before Christmas. This will be the first year that Andrew will perform some piano pieces, entirely by his choice. (In fact, when we were planning our day, yesterday…making up the list of chores and the list of fun stuff…he clearly indicated that piano and reading should be on the fun stuff list.)

Steve will be home December 20th through January 4th and is looking forward to relaxing, visiting his parents and friends.

Altogether, Andrew and I will be home for a month. We have lots of fun things planned and lots of down time to enjoy. I know the time will go quickly, so I am going to relish every moment!

Next Saturday, I won’t we able to post because I will have just arrived in Medford. So, let’s meet here again December 20th. Until then, join me in refusing to get wrapped up in the materialism and superficiality of the holidays and let's keep it real!

Have a beautiful day!
Big hugs and loves to you all!

St. Andrew's Day!

Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. In Canada and Scotland it was St. Andrew’s Day. We celebrated both. I have been feeling under the weather so the festivities were not to my usual grandness, but none-the-less we learned about the apostle Andrew, his service to Jesus, Andrew’s crucifixion on a X –shaped cross (which later became the symbol on the Scottish flag) and the odd places his body parts are stashed throughout Europe. Scottish websites hail that all a person needs to commemorate the day, are good friends and good drink…in our case, the party included, Andrew having a friend over and me making pumpkin cookies. It was a good time!

On the Advent side of things, Sunday morning, Andrew picked a seasonal appropriate Bible verse and hymn to learn. We did some readings on the subject and this week an added bonus was delivered to our door….Rich Jennings dropped off an Advent wreath, candles and a prayer book. Every night at dinner we light a candle and read a daily reflection. I love the count down to Christmas. Although Andrew will be with his Dad from December 21st to January 3rd, we will joyfully celebrate together with the time we have.

A mile in his shoes...

Steve leaves again for Anchorage today. He will be back Wednesday night, just in time to see Andrew and me before we leave on Friday. During this Anchorage trip, he is going to a slew of finance meetings, trying to make right the wrongs the school incurred in previous years.

The last school board meeting was a tough one. The teachers and Steve held the line with patience and strength, against the sometimes harsh opinions of the board and the community members. The next morning, a school board member who understands education from her years of teaching, wrote Steve this letter…

Dear Steve,
Thank you for your passion. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for sharing yourself and your family with our school and community. Thank you for helping me see that wading through the conflict is part of growing, changing, improving and excelling. You’ve got a lot of patience and tolerance.
Sincerely,
Sally Dybdahl


While I was growing up, my father would often remind me of the saying, “You can’t judge another until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” All it would take would be a few steps in Steve’s shoes and I would either think call myself a glutton for punishment or a never tiring warrior…Just sitting in on the board meetings makes my stomach churn. I so appreciate his perserverance and his vision. I don’t know how he does it.