Supporting Local Business

I attended my wellness small group zoom. It's held at 0930 EST - that's 0530 AKST.   Stacia joined me at 0700 and we went out for our Bible Study. She and I are working through the New Testament this year. We're in Revelation. 

The boys went out for THEIR study with Michael. The girls finished their school week. When Michael returned, I took the girls to Country Cutts. We like supporting local businesses, this is one that's been in our town for 37 years. The owner hopes to continue for 40 years, but due to COVID his business has decreased by 60%. I don't get it - I would think folks still need to get their hair cut.... a great perk of supporting this business is one can grab warm drinks on their way up the stairs. Thanks, Jacque, for the recommendation. 

The last time the girls had their hair cut they had a bit of difficulty communicating what they wanted with a new hairstylist. Allie didn't get quite what she wanted - she thought she looked a bit like Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber (which she did).  Stacia decided not to attempt talking and to just take whatever Courtney did. This was a silent agreement that did not result in a pixie cut. 

The girls came armed with photos today. Courtney did a great job bringing the pictures to life.   Stacia has talked about a pixie cut since she had hair below her waist. She cut it to a chin-length bob, then went shaggy...and finally today...she went with a pixie.  As noted above, she hates actually communicating with hairstylists. I'm not 100% sure why - she says they are like clowns. I don't get that either. Courtney is content not to talk if the girls don't want to talk. LOL They love this trait of hers and say she is quite nice. The problem is she can't read their minds. She is almost perfect.  Armed with photos, and me as an interpreter, we tried again. 

Stacia's hair is curly in the back, wavy on the sides, and straight in front....so we weren't sure what it would do when she cut it.  First, the big side swoop is gone...and we can see her lovely face again. It does make her eyes pop.  The front is still straight. Courtney said she can get a perm on the front if she wants to make it wavy like the back. We'll try a few other techniques first. 

She is enjoying playing with the new hair length. I'm liking this well enough I'm considering a perm and a pixie cut. LOL 

One of Allie's coping mechanisms in the past has been to shave her head. This has the added benefit of being low maintenance and causing people to keep their distance if they aren't close to her.  They assume she is either a lesbian, has cancer, or is having a mental breakdown. She says it's like "separating the wheat from the chaff." It's Biblical. ::snort::   Recently, she began talking about shaving her head again, long story. I suggested we try for a style that incorporates what she loves but keeps her poor head from winter frostbite. She found a cute style and Courtney brought it to life today. 

She left the front and top long - yay winter protection. 

Courtney shaved around her ears and the back. I think it's darling. She kept it soft and feminine and shaved it short. 

I have warm winter scarves the girls may want to use now that their necks are bare to the frigid Alaskan air.  It was a fun outing for a Friday afternoon. 

BTW is anyone else shocked it's FRIDAY already? 

Winter Rhythms

The sunlight is getting shorter, though the days feel long.  It was dark this a.m. when Allie and I left for Bible study. A funny thing happened while we talked. Our waitress came to see if everything was o.k. I'd just taken a bit and tried to answer her and somehow got bread down the wrong pipe...or tube...but I was choking. I made quite a scene, but all is well.  It was dark when we got back home to pick up Stacia. Stacia has been approached about being a Mommy's helper one morning a week for a young family. She met with them today. She has already finished many of her 1/2 credit spring classes, she can get her work done in 4 days if need be. This will work. 

While Stacia met and played with George and Adeline, Allie and I ran an errand.  Then it was back home for the girls to hit the books. 

Michael had another appointment today - this one with a chiropractor. We think it's helping with his pain and movement. The nice path I had shoveled from the house to the compost bed in the little greenhouse has disappeared. 

Grandpa took a nap. . .  The sun rose at 9:51 this a.m. and set at 3:41 p.m. We are at 5 hours and 50 minutes of sunlight. We are 20 days out from the shortest day of the year and then we'll begin adding daylight every day. 

I am making a conscious effort this winter to listen to my body and to embrace the rhythm of winter. That rhythm seems to dictate tea at about 3 p.m. This has not been my normal practice, but I love it. Stacia joined me today for tea and apples.  Then she went and took a nap while I started a new book. It's the time of year when I am conscious of reading leadership books in prep of our minister credential renewals. I'm open to suggestions of books which would be beneficial for leadership/ministry/life....

Check out the candle - it's finally MOVING

Allie finished her day's schoolwork and joined me making loads of veggies for dinner. Michael returned home and grilled steak for everyone but me. I'm supposed to limit red meat to once a week...and who knows what I may still want before the week is up...maybe a bacon cheeseburger. ::snort:: 

Izaak bought a new tree for Bre. Isn't it beautiful? Here is anoter Gherkin Christmas Glimpse....this time from BreZaak's home. 

📷 by Bre

📷 by Bre

There old tree is in the kids' room now. Gideon and Bella show it off for us. 

📷 by Bre

I can tell its winter as it's 8:08 PM and everyone is in bed but Michael and I. Go figure.

A Bit of This and That

 

Dad slept in this morning and I savored time with my tea, the Word and a quiet house. It was a gift. 

Michael made an unscheduled drive to Anchorage for a root canal. His tooth pain should let up soon. 

The girls and Nolan kept pushing with school. 

Our contact teacher called to go over the girls' ILPs. Stacia's was pretty straight-forward.  Allie's took a surprising turn. Alaska offers a state scholarship to students who make a certain score on the SAT, and who take an academic path to college, this is known as the APS.  Some months ago Allie discussed her post-secondary prep with our contact teacher. She said the APS was out of Allie's range. As Allie wanted the door to college open, we told our contact teacher we would focus on making the strongest transcript possible for college applications and scholarships. We added classes to Allie's course load last year. She took a full load this summer. We have all worked HARD. Last week, I left a message reporting Allie has already done more than a year's worth of foreign language work and I'd like to add another credit of foreign language for her spring semester. This is all documented through the company offering the classes/credits.   I am sure she can complete another credit by spring. This will give Allie 3 foreign language credits on her transcript.  In the process of confirming coursework, we realized Allie has gotten very close to being able to qualify for the APS. She is only short math credits.  We have gotten everything else done.  We KNOW she can finish the Algebra 1 she is working on. We took a couple days to discuss and to realistically consider options...we'll move one of her AP courses to a typical high school course which will give her more time to focus on math, we're already working on several of her spring courses and can finish them up fairly easily...we're going to PUSH. It still feels a bit out of reach, but we needed a new goal to focus on, and if she doesn't earn the 2 extra math credits, she'll still be ahead of where she was projected to be. ::snort:: If she qualifies for the APS it will be an answer to prayer for scholarships.  

All that brain work took up the rest of our day, in fact our contact teacher called back with more ideas as we sat down to dinner. 

Magnificent Monday

Michael had to drive to Anchorage and wait at the VA dental clinic to be seen - stand by. He got in. They confirmed he needs a root canal, which I suspect he needed 6 months ago when he first began having pain in the tooth...but 2 crowns later and he'll have a root canal "soon." The clinic that does those will call tomorrow to schedule. I do feel for him, and yet, he DID enjoy lunch with Josiah in town. 

Meanwhile, Nolan had the day off and watched Grandpa so I could keep a date with my friend, Lindsey. She picked me up at one. We grabbed hot drinks at a coffee shack and drove over to see their new home. She promised I'd be back in an hour...and I was...though we sat in the driveway for quite a bit longer. I savored our time to catch up and connect. So much is going on in their lives...vacation, a new house, new job responsibilities....

We opted for a YOYO dinner - you're on your own. It was fun to discuss a favorite Christmas memory as we ate together. We naturally moved into looking at the name of Jesus from our devotional book. It worked well to just grab a few minutes at the end of dinner. I moved the wreath to the table and we'll see if that continues to work well. 

Totally staged photo! 

Alex disappeared and the rest of us ended the night fulfilling that age old Gherkin Christmas tradition - we watched the Muppet Carol. Still one of my favorite movies! It's worth it to track down an unedited version. 

Not a great photo

But, better than this one. 

Look what came in the mail for me! My 2022 Faithful Life Planner...

The first layout reminds me it's time to be praying about the upcoming year. I do love a new year, new month, new week, new day. LOL 

Finally, a few shots from Krista and Luke (KrUke) from the past couple of days. They continue to keep busy adjusting to marriage and their new jobs. They love to spend time together outdoors. Luke has had a snow machine and bought Krista one too. 

📷 KrUke

📷 KrUke

And since I seem to be making it a theme to share a glimpse of Christmas at the various Gherkins...here is a shot of Luke and Krista's tree. 

Cat in the Hat comes to Christmas
📷 KrUke

Advent - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Advent - the most wonderful time of the year.  Our Advent candle journey isn't meant to begin until 1 Dec, but since Advent began TODAY, we'll simply let it sit in the first spot for a bit longer than 24 hours. We are a smaller group than in year's past, but starting an Advent devotional has the same thrill it used to have when all the kids were little and we'd read children's books at night. 

I spent some time this morning checking out our Advent Index.  I created the index in 2008, it is still a good way to think through what we want to do this year, and to remember the fun things we did when the house was full of kids.   We took time after our Advent devotional reading tonight to discuss activities we'd like to enjoy this season and acts of kindness we can spread. Michael and I will be coming up with a Scavenger/Advent Calendar thing in the next couple of days. 

Michael is having horrible tooth pain and went to bed.  The girls and I watched ANOTHER Netflix Christmas movie. 

Does anyone have any INSIGHT to share on this graphic? I mean -10 IS -10. What's with the "feels like" temp? What DOES -27 feel like anyway?  Yes, I WAS up at 4:48 a.m. trying to get the nerve up to deal with the animals before Grandpa needed to be getting up and ready for church.  I realize the days are getting darker. Sunrise today was 9:44 and sunset was 3:49. 

CyRi won the Christmas decor award for "first tree up" this year....They had it up before they left on their cruise. It was either early November or late October.  We applaud anything that helps one cheerfully embrace the encroaching winter season. LOL  

📷Carrie

 And look what was going on at CoRielle's. 

📷 CoRielle

Ok, THIS is hilarious. I love Benny's growing sense of humor. You may recognize the big, gold "1" from Papa's birthday...

📷 CoRielle

It's been a great day...and it's time to join everyone else and head to bed. 

Small Business Saturday

I think we are very nearly real Alaskans...we've been citizens since 2003....and have been in residence for seven years  (Alaska was our home state through our military career, we did NOT take the PFD all those years and when we moved up at retirement had to establish residency). TODAY, we went shopping DOWNTOWN...walking up and down main street in -2* weather...and commented how glad we are it warmed up for Small Business Saturday.  Other years it was simply too cold to consider venturing out - though the temps were warmer than today. LOL 

Stacia, Allie, Arielle, De'Etta

Michael and Cory are the champs of this story. Arielle commented how nice it was to have a whole afternoon out...I concur!  Michael and Cory stayed home, with their attention focused on others, so we could go out. We found some stocking stuffers, gifts for grands (two left to go), and some odds and ends. We really want to shop small this year, and as much as possible I'd like to keep our dollars in our small town. Unfortunately, we DON'T have a Lowes here and  I will have to leave our small town to find a gift for Michael. ::snort::  Ah well...it was fun to get out and find what we could. The girls are doing great with their lists!  

By now most of our friends know we usually don't have an extended family gift exchange until New Year's Eve and we don't do a Household Exchange until after that - usually Jan 6th.  Our focus is usually on acts of kindness, giving to various projects, service etc...and we'll do that this year...BUT,  Carrie and KrUke can't be here for New Year's Eve. We've moved the extended family exchange and gingerbread competition to ::drum roll:: Christmas Day.  We still won't have everyone here, but most.   That means we need to get the extended shopping done in a timely manner. We'll still have the after Christmas sales for the household exchange, though supply chain being what it is, it is iffy to wait. 

Krista bought these for the girls...

Which allows me to say, "Our girls wear steel-toed-combat boots!" I even have a pair...

 

Arielle and I noticed the girls were looking a bit "done" after about five shops.  We were too, to tell the truth. There were a LOT of people in small spaces. I had planned to take everyone to lunch. This is an "thing" I used to do when all the kids were home to avoid being accused of shoplifting when taking 9 kids Christmas shopping (Yes, I have stories). I'd take one at a time and they'd get all their shopping done and we'd have lunch out.  It allowed for personal connection in a busy season.  There aren't many kids at home to need this any longer. Last year, I began the tradition with the grands. Benny and I went out to buy gifts for his parents, caught breakfast, and then went back to our home to wrap presents. I took a happy, tired boy home with surprises to put under their tree.  He and I are looking for a "Baachan date" in the upcoming month. Last year was crazy with covid and BreZaak's kids weren't able to schedule dates. I was THRILLED to get to take the 3 girls out shopping and to lunch today. Sometimes one just needs to be a "child" again and be spoiled by Mom. 

We went to a new cafe as our old standby was closed. 

Bistro Red Beet specializes in yummy, clean, organic, local, fresh, sustainable food. They are known for gathering and foraging for seasonal dishes. Everything (even ketchup and mustard) are made from scratch.  We opted for different entrees and shared: We had potato nachos, Brussel Sprout, Cranberry in a balsamic glaze sandwich, a veggie melt and a turkey burger. All were good. I was hoping for something sweet made with Stevia. I was disappointed, but that was the only disappointment of the day. ::grin::

It's TIME!

Finally. It's TIME....No, not time for Black Friday shopping. While we all LOVE a good deal, none of us felt like rushing out the door this morning to SHOP.  It's TIME....time to take down the fall decor and put up the Christmas/Winter decor. I usually keep the wintery/snowmen hidden until after Christmas, but we decided to go for it today and put everything out. When we put up the fall tree, we chose the decor with an eye to easily changing the focus. This morning the girls were quick to pull the leaves and pine cones off the tree and add strands of wooden beads and ribbons. We aren't totally happy with it yet. 

Nolan had to work. Michael and Alex pulled box after box off the shelves in the garage and brought them inside. They left for their weekly Bible study. Grandpa was occupied with his paper, phone calls, and nap.   The tree was up...the girls and I decided to take a bit of time and savor the day. It had potential to be a relaxing day with no school or outside "musts" to worry about.   The day called for an impromptu tea time in front of the Christmas tree. 

Michael and Alex found us snuggling on the couch when they returned home. We were much too content to move on with the "to do" list. We opted to continue snuggling while watching a Netflix Christmas movie.  I believe it's the break our hearts, AND bodies, needed. 

The movie ended, we grabbed left overs and then the girls, once again, motivated me to get going on decorating...it is after all tradition. I find myself missing Mom greatly and appreciate the girls' company. Allie tackled the trunk at the top of the stairs. 

Stacia set up the nativity for the grands to play with under the tree. 

We added a few big balls to the tree...still contemplating the tree. We decided we want simple and we aren't going to pull out the ornaments this year. We want something a bit different. Michael told us he is fine with whatever we wanted to do. 

Benny's going to be excited the bucket of snowballs are out again

The girls were so much help! I was still pondering how to utilize the space atop the step tonsu when I sent the girls off to bed. Its configuration is different, no stair steps this year for separate nativities to sit on.  In the end the typewriter is just too big and bulky to move far. Nolan came home and said he liked it...the angels were writing the message to proclaim. LOL I think I'd be happier if I can find a spot for the typewriter and give it a Christmas look - AWAY from the nativity. I'll keep looking around....

I'll get more pictures in the upcoming days. There is a lot of box clutter at this point. We'll move the boxes back to the garage tomorrow. OH - in all the shuffling we FOUND the pictures and the Adventure Awaits sign that went missing over a year ago. LOL