Christmas Eve

Friday found much of the family tied up with this and that. 

Since I had 7 at my place, I just invited whomever could get away to come over and have another ethnic dish that only gets made for special occasions... noodle soup with butter glase (a dumpling made with toasted bread crumbs and seasoned with allspice).

My parents joined us for supper and a Christmas Eve vespers.  Sarah and Ben dropped by for a few minutes on their way home from last minute shopping; Kelly Sue came for leftovers on her way home from celebrating with her boys at their dad's home in Buckeye; George and Trish came over for a quick visit when he got off his 7a-7p shift at the hospital.

Organ Concert

As posted earlier...Kristopher promised us an organ concert for our family Christmas gift.
Well, he delivered!
Thursday evening, December 22.
The ancient organ in our church hadn't had that much pulled from it for a long time.  He worked with a definate handicap...the "choir" manual was not functioning, besides the general elderliness of the instrument.


Pre-concert practice



To quote from the notes on his program, "Two traditional Lutheran Advent Chorals were selected as the musical ideas to tie everything together....Both chorals were very popular in Lutheran Germany and many great musicians wrote works, both large and small, based on the tunes."  He played a selection of these works written by Sweelinck, Kauffmann, JS Bach, Pachelbel, Heiller, Bohm, and Schack. Again quoting, "Bookending the program are two works from the Romantic time period in France.  Both are showpieces, designed for the large and grand symphonic organs in the large cathedrals of Paris."  The opening piece was Gigout's Grand Choeur Dialogue and he closed with Widor's Symphony No. 5, Op.42 - v. Toccata....very cool!

Concert attenders:

Grandparents Schwinn

Granparents Herber

K with Bonnie L,
organ teacher of high school years

Aunt KS and cousins



    


Okay, what's going on?



N & M friends





Photo Credits: Starr

Family Time

It's been a busy 7 days.
A week ago, Kristopher arrived from Chattanooga and the time started flying...
On Tuesday, Karl's parents arrived.  After 3 weeks in Yuma, AZ where Dad Schwinn lead a group of Maranatha Volunteers framing a new church for the Gila Bend congregation, they came to spend a week with us.
Wednesday afternoon aunts and cousins converged on Grandma Herber's house to build and consume bierrock (also known as runzas, krautburgers, German-Russian meal in a bun).  Even Konrad and Starr timed their arrival for the holiday to get them here in time for what is becoming a tradition - creating this ethnic treat as a group project when the cousins are home for a holiday. We had enough left of the 6 dozen made to send a few to George, who had to miss out due to work schedule.

autumn color...in December

This is some of the best color I've ever seen in AZ.  Usually, leaves just turn a "sort of" yellow, but mostly just dry up to an uninspiriring brown and fall off whenever.  There are only a few of these trees showing such brilliance, but they look great.  

 I try to get in a little walk after I reach Tempe each Monday mornings prior to hanging out with my cousin, Vince.  This morning there was a small pile of leaves I got to crunch through in the pathway...the crunch was great, but the leaves were way too dry to send off that wonderful scent you get with the same activity elsewhere.

Setting up "Christmas" at Granny's

December 4
For the last few years, my younger brother and his wife have taken charge of providing the grunt labor for putting up "Christmas" at Mom and Dad's.  They usually chose a time when the sibs can lend a hand, however.  George and Trish wind up doing the lion's share, but we have a good time just hanging out together.

Mom gives directions

Trish spreads out the crochet tree skirt

Mom oversees the unwrapping of her Mexican nativity

Thanksgiving in the desert

The Blakes and Herbers living in Arizona have celebrated Thanksgiving together for nearly 30 years.  What used to be two couples and 4 singles has grown to 28 people with marriages, children and a bunch more Herbers moving to Arizona.  As is normal, various friends also joined the group bringing our number this year to 34, if I counted right.  Callie had us out to her new home located miles into the desert. She has a fantastic veiw of Four Peaks out her front window and an unobstructed view of desert.  It was a little chilly, but at least half of us ate outdoors in the sunshine.  For you Herber/Blake family members that don't live in Arizona, here are a few photos of the some of the rest of the family...wish you had been with us!



Hostess Callie and helper Kaitlyn Pearson

Trish carving the bird

George, Karl P, and Konrad discuss electronics

Kelly Sue telling Starr a story about ... who knows?

3 generations

Grandparents Blake and Herber



Oh, yes...pets get included...5 dogs and a cat or two



Scott and Angie



 Sun is so low, only the top of Four Peaks is lighted



Susan's best friend, Laurie, and her daughter, Tori

Konrad and Kelly Sue sindow shopping on line

Susan & Cassie checking Black Friday shopping possibilities

Our host and hostess of the desert

 

pre-holiday prep

Today was spend slicing and dicing, saute-ing and simmering.  In the middle of it all, Karl was working on our network which has the hub in the corner cupboard above the counter top bar, which is also where I was occupied with all that slicing and dicing.

getting back into the swing of things...

If you haven't checked this blog for awhile, I've added information to the October 23 posting. 
We are back in Phoenix from our week in New Mexico... both of us a little more tired than we would like to admit and with chapped hands and lips to commemorate the cold dry of the high desert. 
Today was my day to spend with mom as encourager and "tech" support.  She completed chapter 15 of her memiors and set up for chapter 16.  She really seems to be having fun.  She is not near as tense with the computer as she was last summer.  As a result, we can go 15-20 minutes between cries for help.  Not only that, but she doesn't feel totally wiped out at the end of the afternoon.  And... she looks forward to the next chance to work on it.  She is gaining...I'm really proud of her.

I seem to be on the roll with sunsets.  I just wish my photography could do them justice.  Tonight was glorious out my kitchen window, but wouldn't you know, I couldn't remember where I had unpacked the camera.  Finally I gave up and grabbed Karl's.  The sunset was still looking fairly spectacular by that time, but the photographer and camera just can not do it justice.

organ concert

Kit emailed his program from the concert he gave on the 14th at his church job in Atlanta, GA.  In fact, he has promised to play the whole thing as a Christmas present for the family when he comes home in December.  Wow! I find that pretty exciting.  Usually we have to beg and bribe to get him to play for us, and even then we are not always successful.  Now, if we can just get the organ in the church worked on so it sort of works half way decent.

home, again

We put in as fulll a day as possible on Sunday.  I was in the library moving books by 9:00 am and I moved my last books around 6:00 pm.  Unfortunately, I didn't finish the job I was working on.  Things don't change very quickly on the rez, so it is quite possible the job will still be in the same place waiting for me to finish it when we visit the next time.  Possibly spring? 
After quickly grabbing the meal I had left cooking in the crock pot and a salad I threw together of the veggies I had left in the frig, we hurriedly packed our suitcases and the tools, slung them into the pickup and headed home about 7:40 pm.  To keep things interesting, the temps had dropped and the wind increased from what we had coped with on Sabbath.  By the time we got on the road I commented to Karl that I hoped we got out of the higher elevations before the weather turned to snow.  He pooh-poohed the idea and not 10 minutes later it started to rain.  What had I said?  He still pooh-poohed it. Within the half-hour it was snowing in the headlights!  By the time we got down to I-40 it had turned back to rain and  by the time we reached the AZ border the highway and air was dry.
We made it home before 2:00 am.  However, we both needed to be up and out early, so the alarm was set for 6:30am.  Not enough down time, folks.  But, we will survive!

Sabbath on the Rez

When all the interesting photo ops of the Sabbath happened...I was without my camera (or didn't think about it until the op was finished).
We began the Sabbath last evening with our neighbors across the "road".  Dorie and Pollie P are house parents and also our pastoral unit for the mission.  Each Friday evening, they invite the staff and surrounding community in for supper and a non-denominational vespers.  They sing songs in Navajo, which is a hit with the older crowd.  The group that attends are not the same people we saw in church this morning.  This appears to be an opening wedge.

This afternoon Karl wanted to walk the northern border of the mission and get the surveyors pegs plotted into his GPS.  Several of the newest staff decided to tramp along with us to help them get a better picture of the mission size, and to get some Sabbath afternoon exercise.  Of course, we had the patriarch of LaVida, Bob, lead the "expedition".  He has been at LaVida for 30 years.  In the photo, Bob stands by a stake that has been placed by the surveyor's peg.  If you look closely you can see the mission buildings scattered across the hill in the background. 

With the wind blowing the ever present dust/sand, we had to rinse grit from our mouths and eyes when we returned in concert with the beginning of a new week.

Friday at the mission

   Today, I got serious with the non-fiction section.  All the non-fiction that had been mixed in with the Easy Readers, needed shelving.  Once I got over into that section I found so many books shelved in the wrong place it was hard to find where to put the ones in hand.  Okay, so I'm easily confused... but it really was a mess... so I started SORTING.  Now there was where I really found dust.  So nose dripping and sneezing away, I put in 7 hours.  There is no way I will get this completed this trip, but hope to get in another 5-6 hours before we leave on Sunday.

I quit early and got a load of laundry done and then went out to meet the sunset.

Thank you, Lord.... for the Sabbath and La Vida Mission.

sorting queen...

So after 2 days of sorting plumbing fittings...I get sent to the school to help out there, wound up in the library, and you've guessed it, started sorting.

Books hadn't been re-shelved for some time and there was quite a stack.  The volunteer that helps out in the library on occasion requested the easy reader section be reconfigured to assist in making it more user and maintainer friendly.  So there I went, again...sorting.  The principal also had me work with a couple of her reading challenged kids; helped them to choose books and had them read aloud to me. 

I was fairly sure getting inside the school house, plus the warmer temp, would see the end of the drippy nose.  Wrong.  I didn't count on the books and shelves having a nice thick layer of dust on the ones not in frequent use.  Oh, well.  I was warm while I sneezed and wiped my drips!

LVM Wednesday

With PVC fittings now filling the previously empty bins, they set me to sorting the steel fittings... nasty stuff... cold, some rusty, all very dusty, and sitting in drifted dirt/sand on the floor... but at least I didn't have to search for them in a dozen different mod podge mixed boxes of goods (interlaced with trash) like I did with the PVC.

By the way, did you readers from Shattuck recognize Palmer's old pickup out in front of the "ark" in Tuesday's blog post?


All that cold and dust for two days has my nose going at a steady drip along with periodic sneezing when I'm in the warehouse.  Allergies are the culprit, I'm sure.

I didn't even realize my boots had reflector qualities on the lacing loops until I looked at the photos.  It looks like I have a little bling going on my feet.

back to LaVida Mission

We made the trip up from Phoenix in under 7 hours yesterday evening.  We even made it to bed in a timely manner.
Winter temps made getting out of the warm covers a little more of a challenge this morning.  Also had another challenge... no running water.  They had left us buckets of water for flushing toilets and of course we always use jugs of water from the RO for drinking and cooking.  Guess who skipped bathing until the plumbing was fixed?!

The "Ark"

We delivered teaching tools from Starr and textbooks from the Tucson school, during LaVida School's morning recess.  Cynthia (principal) got rather excited when she saw some of the items coming through the door.
After checking in with the administrator and a short visit, I spent the afternoon in the "ark" warehouse, sorting pvc pipe fittings and adapters.  It was a bit chilly in there so I was swaddled in long johns, turtleneck, hoodie, down vest, hat, etc.
I came in about two hours ago to make and eat supper... Karl is still at large...hard telling when he'll come in for the night!  Someone has probably fed him, so hunger isn't driving him back here for supper.

Colorado weekend

Wow! It was great to go back to our old stomping grounds in Denver area, and especially to see friends!  Of course, our main people are the Lake family.  Debbi and I have a history of more than 40 years and in all that time, all I can come up with is good memories... great friend.  We did lunch together with two of her adult children, then Karl and I joined the whole family for a Friday evening of supper at Qdoba and lots of talking.

We worshipped with the Boulder Church group and enjoyed touching bases again with a variety of friends, but were especially glad to see our people with which we shared Wednesday night's small group for over a year!  Love seeing you Doris and Russell; Fran, Keith and Melody.

We spent the afternoon and evening with the Lake family (including friend, Steve Winn).  Saturday night was a museum/art promo for the Denver area and select museums opened after regular hours (5 pm to 10 pm) with free admission.  We went out to Golden and did a little "museum hopping".  We managed to get in 3. Here are SW, DQ(L) and Anjuli at our third one.  By now, we were ready to call it a wrap... I barely found enough enthusiasm to get myself off the steps to snap this shot.  If I'm lucky, I'll receive additional photos to share.... check back later.

05/26/11
It is now later, much later... :) 

Photo credit: S. Lake
Thank you Steve.

progress (or lack of) report from Vanuatu

On Saturday October 30, we attended a Maranatha Day at our old church in Phoenix (we have been attending in Scottsdale since our return).  It was fun to see old friends at the church.  Also great to visit with the 6 staff members of Maranatha presenting or working support for the event.  Karl and Brenda Duerkson had been communicating over the past week regarding the trip to Vanuatu she and Dick had just completed.  Brenda had commitments elsewhere, so was unable to attend the AZ event, but Dick was there as the principle speaker.  As arranged with Brenda and Karl via email, Dick made a quick down load on our media storage of his huge file of photos taken by both he and Brenda in Vanuatu. 
It is rather disappointing that only two more structures have been finished since we left.  There are still units sitting on the ground at the office compound waiting to ship to island construction site.  Things are truly moving on "island time".  Disappointing, but not totally surprising.
The Dueksons took so many really great photos.  I am going to post a very few and only those that relate to early posting I made from Vanuatu.

We never did get a good photo of the man who was to be the lead man on the One Day Church project in Vanuatu.  Brandon Dick was introduced to you in my April 25 post.

Here is the number one One Day Church (said "nambawan wan de joj" in Bislama) I told you about from April 29- mid- May posts.  They have managed to put in half of the concrete floor.  Probably adding to it as the money is raised.

Meet Tom, the conference treasurer.  Fantastic guy.  If we needed something done, even when it wasn't his department, we talked to Tom.  Though native to Vanuatu, he had learned to function outside of island time and we pushy Americans found he could adapt to our comfort zone as needed.

This is a shot from the office area located on the second floor above the guest house where we lived. You can see one of the four bundles of church components still sitting on the ground, still waiting to be shipped as of 3 weeks ago... island time still functioning.

One of the two churches that have been erected since we left. (Dick Deurkson and Brandon Dick standing)

Dick and Brenda found the market an interesting place, too.  I had fun going through their shots, I found myself checking and comparing prices and noticing what was in season and what was not!  Check out the huge white sweet potatoes... they were not available in April and May... also the tomatoes.  That is one thing we did miss, and while on the island, purchased a couple that were imported to the grocery store for a princely sum.

Heading back to CO could happen ....

We loved living and working in CO.  When we left last February it looked like we had a chance for going back when another Maranatha expansion could be funded in 3-5 years.  Yay!  There is a chance it will break loose sooner!  We fly up to Denver this weekend to meet with corporate VP and site engineer.  If everything goes good, the property will be finalized and conceptual plans sent to the engineers... wait to see if and how things develop.

proud momma must brag...

K has finished his 6 weeks of NCO training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX, and flew home yesterday bearing another award, the Levitow award for leadership and top scholastic achievement.  I'll have to find a link that tells the particulars and add it.  Check back later.

It is later..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airman_Leadership_School gives an overview of Leadership School and tells about the Levitow award.  As Starr put it in her last letter, he brought home the award
"for Outstanding academics and general all around awesomeness. Earning 2 Levitows within 5 years is basically unheard of...so if there's not a position for him in Ohio (the next posting he is interested in), they'll make one for him. He's a wanted man. (Don't I know it!) There's a higher ranking guy from his current squadron already slotted to go to Ohio & he intends on taking K with him. ...we'll see how it all turns out."

It is even later...
Here is a photo of the event.