Spring Tea for the Knitting Clubs

I belong to a knitting club with ladies from my church. Our main purpose, aside from fellowship, is to knit prayer shawls to be given to those who may have a serious illness or have faced a hardship and are in need of encouragement. I've been part of this fantastic group for at least 7 or 8 years. We meet once a month, sometimes doing a craft other than knitting, since the knitting can easily be done at home or on vacation. Before we start a shawl, we say a prayer that God will help the person for whom the shawl will be given.

For the first time, on Saturday we were invited to the home of one of our leaders for a tea—a thank you gift for the shawls we knit and donate. Everything in Barb's home was just beautiful!

In the center is a bowl of living grass. Knitting needles are in the grass. In front of it are balls of yarn; beside are little Easter decorations.

The tables were really pretty! Notice the balls of yarn with needles.

These were some of the treats. My, were they delicious!

Delicate sandwiches and scones

This is my friend, Glady, standing by one of the three tables.

Our placemats were vintage handkerchiefs. There was a potted pansy at each place setting. These were our host gifts. On the menu were tiny sandwiches, homemade scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd, and for dessert: coconut birds nests and little chocolates. Yum! Each place setting had a china tea cup and saucer; vintage tea pots were used. 

The conversation at the table where I was seated with Betty, Lorraine, and Louise was really nice.

L to R: Louise, yours truly, Betty

L to R: Lois, Laurey, and Sue

Friends Laurey and Pat. Laurey and Pat helped prepare this tea on Friday.Pat has an incredible gift of decorating and crafts. Many of the items on the tables she brought from her collection. At our Christmas Swedish smorgasbord, many of the decorations are supplied by her as well. 

L to R: Barb, Ellen, and Gayle. Barb graciously opens her home many times during the year for our knitting club. She has a gift of hospitality and social graciousness. 

After eating, Barb led us in a little program. She shared a thank you card that had come from Evelyn, one of the recipients of one of our shawls. Sadly, Evelyn passed away a few months after we gave the shawl to her. Each of us had brought a pair of our knitting needles. We put them in a basket and Barb prayed over them. We haven't done this before, but I think it helped each of us to realize how important our ministry is.

Remembering

Fifty four years ago today, I was anticipating the return of my mother who had gone to Illinois for a little trip. She had left on Sunday afternoon and told my sister and me she would be returning on Thursday. It was Wednesday evening, right after supper, when one of the neighbor girls knocked on our back door, and asked if I could come out to play. I told her I couldn't because I was busy ironing the freshly laundered clothes.

Before my mother left, she said we didn't have to do the laundry because she would do it after she got home. I had decided to surprise her.

Around 6:30 or so the next morning, there was a knock on our front door. My sister got out of bed to answer it. It was our minister, Herman Kooy. He told her he needed to talk to both of us. She brought him to our bedroom door and he told us that our mother wouldn't be coming home. She had died earlier that morning. He waited in our living room while we got dressed and drove us to his home where his wife, Louise, fixed us breakfast and cared for us for the next two days.

Not all of the details are so vivid in my mind, but those events are things I think about at this time every year.

It was a good day . . .

My cousin Beulah

This morning I drove to St. Peter, Minnesota, to attend the funeral mass of my eldest cousin. Beulah was a cousin on my father's side of the family. She was the first grandchild for my paternal grandparents, her mother being one of the older children of their ten. I am the third youngest grandchild; my father was the youngest of the ten. I guess Beulah felt more like an aunt than a cousin—her three kids were my contemporaries. She was a very special woman, fun to be around. She worked at the Dayton's department store in Southdale (Edina, Minnesota) for many years.

As I have mentioned before, the beautiful part of a funeral or memorial service is the gathering of family and friends. I was pleased to see other cousins, whom I rarely see any more. It was a joy to visit with them today.

Following the mass, the generous church ladies provided a very nice lunch for the guests. While seated at a table with several of my cousins, I mentioned having been to this church several years ago for our "adopted" Uncle Tony's funeral (actually not this very building, as the original Catholic church in St. Peter was destroyed in the 1998 tornado). Back then I remembered enjoying the lunch and asking one of the church ladies for the recipe for the hot dish they had served. After a few minutes, she returned to my table with the recipe. The name of the recipe: Funeral Hot Dish. I made that dish many, many times for my family—often at their request. Ask any of my kids the name of it, and they'll say, "We called it Funeral Hot Dish." Well, you guessed it, they served it again today!

When Will This Winter End?

I was terribly disappointed to return home last Wednesday and see that we still had a lot of snow on the ground. And it was cold. To top things off, we had snow again today! While home at lunchtime, I let Nels out on the porch. He enjoyed watching the big flakes coming down and tried to catch a few.

Notice all of the snow that still needs to go away. The depressing thing is that Christmas Eve is just 9 months away from now!

Sporting her green on Saint Patrick's Day!

Marshall wore a green shirt, too. After all, he's part Irish (on Chad's side).

My Date with Marshall

On Marshall's day off from school, I took him to see Frozen, the 3-D version. When the movie was starting, I leaned over to say something to Marshall. He soon shushed me. I looked around and then replied, "Marshall, we're the only ones in the theater. It's okay we talk a little bit." He and I really liked the movie

.

What's a date without lunch?

Marshall posing by the heather. 

A Couple of Outings in Seattle

One night Heidi and I took Corinne and some pizzas to her place of work. I love going to the tower and watching the controllers. All of her coworkers were thrilled to see Heidi again and to meet Corinne. One of them even took a turn to feed her. We spent a couple of hours or so there—eating pizza and visiting. I got to listen in to one of the controllers for quite awhile. I really respect Heidi and the job she and her colleagues do, keeping track of incoming and outgoing jets, putting them at gates, moving them from one runway to another. They are so focused! I was enjoying it so much I forgot to take any pictures. :-)

Another day we left Corinne with Chad and took Marshall downtown to the Seattle Aquarium and Pike Place Market.

Marshall loves this aquarium, partly due to the many "hands on" things.

Ahoy, there!

Marshall's impression of a starfish.

After touring the aquarium, Heidi treated us to a ride on the new Ferris wheel. I really enjoyed it!

View from inside our car

One of the many views from our car: the stadium where the Seahawks play, the one where the Mariners play, and Mount Rainier in the background.

Check out these daffodils!

One of the many bouquets. I just love this place: Pike Place Market.

A rich, fulfilling vacation comes to an end

Yesterday I returned home from a fantastic time in Seattle. While the city and its surroundings are beautiful, they don't compare to my new granddaughter Corinne. I have fallen deeply in love with her. Like my other seven grandchildren, she is beautiful and very sweet. I have a collection of photos to share that give a glimpse of my great time there.

Here she is!

I couldn't get over how much she resembled my three kids at this age.

Isn't she beautiful!

Marshall and I had a lot of fun together, too.

Marshall and I took Brian for a walk.

Marshall posing by one of the many flowering plum trees. 

I loved sitting in this chair rocking Corinne. She liked it, too.

At a week and a half old, Corinne had her first doctor appointment. Here she weighs 7.5 pounds.

A Fun Day in Seattle

Today was a very full, but fun day in Seattle. After breakfast, I drove Marshall to preschool. When I got back, we drove Corinne to her pediatrician appointment. What a good report she got! She now weighs 7.5 pounds—up a full pound since she was born two weeks ago. Everything else looked good.

This afternoon Heidi, Marshall and I went to downtown Seattle to tour the aquarium. This was a new experience for me. I really enjoyed the beautiful aquatic life. We had opportunity to touch star fish and anemones. The anemones were sticky.

Next Heidi surprised us with treating us to a ride on the big Seattle Ferris wheel. This amazing wheel is right over the waters of Puget Sound, and afforded us great views of Seattle and even the top of Mount Rainier.

After the ride, we walked up to Pike Place Market and wandered through the shops. Once again, I was amazed at the gorgeous flowers. At this time of year, there were beautiful tulips and a big variety of daffodils, plus one of my favorites—pussy willows! I took a bunch of photos, but won't be posting them until I get back home. In the meantime, check out the photos of today on Heidi's blog:

Meet My New Granddaughter, Corinne

 

Corinne Liberty

 

On Thursday evening, February 27, Corinne Liberty was born to Heidi and Chad. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 17.5 inches long. [Heidi was 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and 17 inches long when she was born.] Heidi and Corinne came home from the hospital on day two. I thought this was way too early considering she was born cesarean, but Heidi assured me she was very ready to be home and back in her own bed. A week later, I flew in to Seattle to get to meet my newest angel.

 

What fun it has been to be here with Heidi and her family. I have gotten to hold, feed and change Corinne, and have played with Marshall, as well as seeing where he goes to preschool. The ironic thing is this: when I am feeding her, her little face reminds me exactly of my kids. She looks just like Hans, Peder and Heidi looked at that age. Yesterday Heidi had to take Corinne back to the hospital for routine lab work. I got to see the room where she and Marshall were born, and the room where Heidi and Corinne stayed.

 

An added bonus being here is the beautiful, spring weather! The grass is a beautiful green, and the cherry trees are in bloom. Forsythia is in bloom as well as other bushes that are unfamiliar to me. It's definitely a nice change from the snowy Minnesota!

 

 

Marshall, Grandma D, and Corinne



Announcement: I have a new granddaughter!

First photo of Corinne

Marshall holding Corinne

Thursday night at midnight, the phone rang and when I answered, my son-in-law Chad was on the other end. He said the sweetest thing. "Corinne had her birthday tonight." I had been sound asleep, but this much registered with me: Heidi had her baby. Both she and I had wanted the delivery to come early, and we got our wish.

Corinne Liberty was born at 8:52 pm, PST. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and is 17.5 inches in length. She arrived 16 days before her due date. [At birth Heidi weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 17 inches in length, and she came 3 weeks early.] Like Marshall's birth, Corinne was delivered cesarean.

Friday morning Heidi sent me a message giving me the phone number at the hospital, which I called right away. It was great getting to hear her voice and hearing about my newest granddaughter.

I don't know too many details at this time, but am anxiously awaiting for my trip out there next week. Not only will I get to spend time with my family, but I'll be leaving my down coat, boots, mittens, and earmuffs at home!

A Big Snow Storm

The latest snowfall started yesterday afternoon around 1 pm and continued 11 hours. Prior to the snow, we had rain, followed by sleet. So this morning was a mess—a big mess! The total snowfall in my neighborhood was about 7 inches. It was a heavy snow, so the branches of our big white pine in our front yard were bent to within 3 or 4 feet from the sidewalk. I had to bend quite low to clear them.

Our parking spots were plowed, but sidewalks were not. I managed the rough roads driving to the office. Thankfully, our office parking lot had been cleared.

I have never seen the snow this high in my backyard,

or this high on the air-conditioning units.

Others are handling this long, cold winter better than I. Oh, did I mention we're going below zero again next week? 

Good-bye, Uncle Allan

My Uncle Allan passed away early this morning. He was married to my Aunt Ginny who is my mother's younger sister.

Some really good photos of him can be seen here when we were down there to see them in 2010.

Uncle Allan was a man I admired for his kindness, commitment to his family and our Creator, and intelligence. Some years ago I particularly loved talking to him because we had big computers  in common (for me while I was working at the telephone company). My Uncle Allan served in the Navy and while there, he worked in electronics [He served from 1947 - 1950.]. When he got out, he went to the University of Minnesota. Following that, he worked for Univac, one of the first inventors of the computer. Soon after that, he was transferred to New York City. I'm not sure how long he worked there, but I know my cousins Diane and John were born when they lived there [Aunt Ginny said it was 4 LONG years.]. After that he took a job to be the manager of the computer department of the University of Chicago. He worked there 30 years. During this time he was also very active in their church – he was an elder and on the pulpit committee when they were searching for a new pastor. And that wasn't all. Following retirement, he and my Aunt Ginny sold their family home and bought a 5th wheeler (a large RV)  to travel about the country with a group that does volunteer work for Christian organizations such as Bible Colleges and camps—RVICS. In summer time, they would drive as far away as Prince Edward Island and he would work on computer systems at a college or camp while my Aunt Ginny would do clerical work, staying weeks at a time. When it turned cold, they would travel to the southern states to help out in the same capacity.

In June of 1958, the summer after my dad died, I was invited to come to stay with my Uncle Allan and Aunt Ginny for four weeks. They lived in Oak Park, Illinois, at the time, but were building a house in Dolton, a southern suburb of Chicago. Two or three nights a week, after Uncle Allan got home from work, we would drive to Dolton to see the progress on that new house. Taking the Congress Expressway to downtown Chicago, we would turn south at Buckingham Fountain. I thought it was a beautiful sight. They let me stay with them at a sad time in my life.

Near the end of his life, Uncle Allan had totally lost his hearing, and his diabetes had made him bed ridden. Quoting my cousin Linda today, she said, "Now he's hearing and walking again!" My prayers are with my Aunt Ginny and her kids, David, Linda, Diane and John and their families.