Last Sunday of 2012

Heard a good sermon for the end of the year this morning, the last from our interim preacher, John Russell. It challenged us to look forward to Heaven instead of thinking that the joy and security of this world is better than all we'll experience, and all we won't experience, there. A couple of unrelated quotes I jotted down:

"While we all live under the same sky, we don't all have the same horizon."
Konrad Adenhauer
"I talked to a person who said, 'I wouldn't go to that church; it's just too big.'
"'Well, you'll be miserable in Heaven,' I said. 'Because that's going to be a multitude you can't count.'"

Ate lunch at Mimi's (had a gift card), and then I dropped Evelyn off at DSW Shoe Outlet while I stopped by my office to photocopy a flyer to send to prospects for our tour/cruise next summer.  This afternoon I made a list of folks who have expressed interest but haven't committed. Had an email from one of those who decided just today to join us. I have the letters ready to mail tomorrow.

Went to the grocery and got stuff for tomorrow and the rest of the week.  Enjoyed grilled cheese and TV in the evening. Jen and Matt and the kids are due back in from their visits in Indiana before bedtime tonight.

Snowy Morning, Shopping Afternoon, Showy Evening

I was up at 7:00 to see if it was snowing and how much it snowed overnight. It was. And it had--about 2 inches.
Matt was planning to leave for Indiana with the kids at about 8:00, so I got dressed and shoveled the driveway and put down a little ice melter so they wouldn't have to get out in a mess.
After they left, the three of us (Jen, Evelyn, and I) relaxed and ate some Christmas carbs. Then I took Evelyn's car for an oil change, because Jen drove it to Indiana this afternoon.
Once the sun was up and shining, we could see that the wet snow and the still air combined to make every scene outside look like a Christmas card.

After showers, the three of us headed to Kenwood for some shopping and lunch. Evelyn and I found a dining room set on sale at Macy's--it's the first new dining room furniture we've had in almost 40 years of marriage. Jen found a winter coat on sale at Macy's too--it was a productive shopping trip!
She left about 4:30 to meet Matt in Greensburg where they're visiting friends and family today and tomorrow.
Evelyn and I grabbed some Christmas leftovers for a quick supper and then drove back to the Kenwood area to see "Argo" at the Kenwood Theater. It's the only theater in town still showing the movie--I'm glad we got to see it. (If you've missed it, this is one movie that will translate well to the TV screen--get the video when it's available sometime in the future.)

Visting, Purchasing, Eating, and Watching

Mildred and Jen have been friends for years, and I get the
impression that one was as glad as the other to see
each other this afternoon.

A good day visiting with the Johnsons. We showed up in the kitchen in our pajamas at different times and finally ate pancakes and bacon together about 11:00. Nina beat me two games out of three at Chinese checkers, and I taught Miles to play Risk on my iPod.
This afternoon Jennifer and Evelyn went to visit Verna Weber's mom, Mildred Holmes, at Mason Christian Village, while the other Johnsons and I went on a mission to spend some of Miles and Nina's gift cards. They came home with armloads of books, courtesy of their Aunt Lisa and Uncle Geoff, and Nina spent a gift card from us at Old Navy. We ran out of time before we could take Miles to Target to spend his gift card there; that's on the list for Monday.

I quickly snapped this picture just before
the lights went out and the play began
this evening.

Nina wore the new top she bought on our outing to the Twin Dragon Chinese restaurant and Playhouse in the Park to see "Christmas Carol." We enjoyed the play; it's an excellent production--the settings, lighting, and sound are as interesting as the performance itself.

Tomorrow Matt and the kids are heading to Indiana in the morning, and Jen is following in the afternoon for an overnight of various family and friends visits there. It's snowing, just in time for them to be on the roads again.
(One thing we won't do in Heaven is make plans around the weather. Come to think of it, I guess we won't make plans at all in Heaven!)

A Quiet Day, a Quick Day

By "quick," I mean the time passed by quickly, even though we weren't that busy. Maybe the fact that we weren't too busy made it all the more surprising when I looked up at the clock and realized another couple of hours had passed.
The Johnsons arrived at about 1 a.m. this morning after having left home yesterday at 9:30 a.m. (and no, there are no time changes involved from their house to ours). They were exhausted after navigating the Pennsylvania Turnpike through a small blizzard, waiting maybe two hours for an accident to be cleared and waiting another hour for the tow truck to pull them out of a ditch after they'd slid on an unexpected patch of ice.
In spite of how tired all of us were, we stood or sat and talked and snacked for another hour before finally turning in about 2:00.
Most of us slept in this morning. (Matt was up before any of us, though, for his morning run.) We nibbled on cinnamon roles and sipped coffee and visited before splitting off from the group to shower and get ready for the day. By the time everyone had finished that, it was almost time for lunch! We enjoyed Christmas ham and cheese ball and then adjourned to game playing (and a phone call from Geoff on his way to his Colorado ski trip after Christmas in Fort Collins) while Jen had a business call at 2:30. Before 4:00 we headed to our outing for the day to Kohl's and Target to pick up some necessities and bargains.

Evelyn took a first look at the
calendar Jen made us featuring
pictures of the Johnsons from this year
to decorate our kitchen next year.

When we came home, Evelyn and I put together dinner, starting with some yummies from the freezer, courtesy of the Aulens who sent us a big box of good things from Omaha Steaks for Christmas. We probably ate dinner after 6:30, maybe it was 7:00. When we looked up and saw it was already 9:00, we knew we had to get busy opening the packages under the tree. Actually we had just a few, except for the grab bag gifts I had bought and wrapped. We had fun choosing, opening, stealing, and admiring the fun little goodies "Santa" had brought us.
The day went quickly. But it was a relaxed day, quiet in many ways. A good way to spend  Christmastime with family.

A Quiet Day, a Long Day

The day hasn't turned out the way we planned--for us or for our family, the Johnsons, whose 10-hour trip to our place is logging in (so far) at maybe 16 hours.
First they lost about three hours waiting for jacknifed tractor trailers to be cleared from the PA Turnpike. Then Jennifer called just before 8:00 to say they had slid off the Interstate into a ditch, just this side of Wheeling. Triple-A promised the tow truck to arrive by 9:20, but then she texted at 8:16 to say the happy tow-er had already arrived. So maybe it'll be 15 hours instead of 16.
Meanwhile we wait.
I've been checking websites for weather reports and highway updates all day. Of course, none of this helped them, and it didn't really help me, either.
We've had maybe 6 inches of snow today. At one point late this morning the snow was falling at the rate of an inch an hour. My pictures don't really capture the spectacle. I'm glad it didn't continue for any more hours than it did!

We had planned to spend half a day or so with our friends the Webers, helping them pack for their move tomorrow (which they've put off till Friday; at last report they're planning to load tomorrow and drive Friday). Verna called before noon and said, "Don't come." I think by late afternoon we might have made it OK, but then I heard about accidents on I-71, and I decided maybe we were smart just to stay put. Roads were passable but several still slushy when I ran to the grocery after 4:00.
Our neighbor, Gary Lavon, brought over his snow blower and cleared our driveway and walk, bless him. I went out two other times to shovel an inch or so of new snow each time. I put down ice melter so it will be clear for the Johnsons--whenever they get here.
We've had a quiet day--Evelyn did some baking. We ate leftovers, yummy leftovers, for lunch and dinner. I wrapped some presents. We're spending the evening watching TV--a rare event; Evelyn's doing some ironing and I'm reading through some old newspapers while we watch. . . . And wait.

A Little Different, a Lot Nice

A nice Christmas--different, when I come to think about it--than any Christmas I can remember.
Evelyn and I were alone today, except for our fun dinner with all the Webers who were at our place from about 2:00 till maybe 5:30.
We had a nice, relaxed morning and spent a lot of the time getting ready for dinner. We had Honeybaked Ham, cheesy potatoes, fresh green beans, and applesauce Jello. Verna brought a tasty beverage for us to enjoy with our cheese ball and crackers, and Jocelyn brought wonderful Christmas cookies to add to ours  and the Graeter's ice cream we had for dessert. It was a respite from packing for them; they're still planning to load and move on Thursday. And if the snow will allow, we plan to go help them pack tomorrow afternoon.

Mildred Holmes, "Oma," had a pretty smile
while Nora and Ruby wiggled for my snapshot
just before they left this evening.

They're predicting 4+ inches for Butler County tomorrow, preceded by freezing rain, so we're hoping it's not as bad as they're expecting so we can get to Price Hill to help a little. Jen and Matt and the kids are planning to make the trek from Pennsylvania here tomorrow, and I'm nervous about the bad weather they may be facing.
After Webers left this evening, I got on line and bought tickets for the 7:00 showing of Les Miserables at the Rave. We got there by about 6:20 and waited in line behind 50 or 75 people till the theater was cleaned from the previous showing. We had great seats, high in the theater, right in the center of the row, for the best movie experience I can remember in a long time.
A hoard of my Facebook friends went to see the movie today. One of them said he started crying when it started and cried through the whole thing. He would have had good company with the young girl sitting beside me who sniffed and wiped her eyes intermittently throughout the film.
I was surprised to find myself moved to tears more than once during the musical. It was compelling, not so much because of the familiar music but more because of the remarkable portrayals, especially by Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman. Kudos should also go to Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Of the major players, I was least impressed with Russell Crowe, but he was sufficiently evil enough to make us want him to lose.
Evelyn and I came home and snacked on dinner leftovers, checked Facebook, and watched the threatening weather reports on the TV news to end the day.
It was a good Christmas, like I said, just a little different than most Christmases we can remember.

The Day Before Christmas

We decided to spiff up to go to dinner and read
Scripture at the Christmas Eve services.

The day before Christmas was a wonderful day for us!
For starters, we spent the whole day, till evening, at home--not one errand, not one trip to a store or a grocery. We just listened to Christmas music while we took care of other tasks around the house. And I read in a book a little and took a 10-minute nap in the afternoon.
We ate leftovers from our dinner the previous evening for lunch and saved up so we'd be hungry for what we anticipated would be a wonderful dinner.
It was! Due to the generosity of some friends who lavished much more appreciation on me than I deserved, we had a gift certificate at Eddie Merlot's, a fine restaurant on the northeast side of town that I'd always thought about going to someday. Since we were alone, we decided it would be the perfect spot for our Christmas Eve dinner.
It was! Homemade crab cakes for appetizer. A remarkable chopped salad (with artichokes) to share. Evelyn had cedar planked salmon with spinach and fingerling potatoes and I had the 6-ounce filet and a side order of mushrooms. All of it was delectable. Our reservation was at 7:00, and we had promised to be at the church by 9:00. It was a leisurely dinner, and we decided we'd better not take time for dessert. They gave us a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing to take with us, and we ate it before bed after attending two Christmas Eve services at the church.

Kim blessed us with a remarkable
rendition of "O Holy Night"

Dave Lautzenheiser had asked us to read Scriptures for the two Christmas Eve services (9:30 and 11:00), and we enjoyed doing it. Kim Rodarmel sang "O Holy Night," and Greg Henderson accompanied "Silent Night" on the bells --he soloed on about two octaves of them, first playing the melody and then playing chord and descant accompaniments. Mark Sullivan and Brad Wilson spoke--I've never heard them do better. We sat with Dan and Cindi Cooper at the first service and then left after our readings at the second service. It was all very nice.
We took a long way home and looked at Christmas lights on the way, and Evelyn made her applesauce Jello before we went to bed. Three generations of Webers are coming to eat with us at 2:30 today.
We had nice phone visits with Jennifer and then with Geoff late in the afternoon before getting ready to go to dinner.
The day before Christmas was a very good day!

Christmas with Friends

"This is my favorite day of Christmas," Sev Friskney said when they arrived for dinner Sunday night. The day before the day before Christmas. It was a good--although a busy--day for us.

The choir wore their formals and tuxes to help lead
our Christmas Sunday worship service.

Evelyn and I did a brief narration as part of the worship services at 9:30 and 11:00 at church in the morning. (I had written it in response to an e-mail from Dave Lautzenheiser asking for ideas to connect two parts of the service.) And this was our Welcome Center Sunday too, so we got to church about 9:00 and stayed till almost 12:30.
John and Mary Jane Burgess came to worship with the church at Mason, and we had a nice visit with them as well as happy "Merry Christmas" greetings with many others in all the time we had to spend in the church lobby Sunday morning.
We grabbed lunch at LaRosa's and I took Evelyn home before heading out to run a couple of errands--last-minute grocery run and a visit to the Honey Baked Ham store.
Then I worked with Evelyn to complete preparations for the Christmas dinner we hosted with friends that evening: roast beef, green beans, Waldorf salad, twice baked potatoes; Evelyn's traditional cheese ball and fresh shrimp for appetizers, along with the cranberry apple hot punch we enjoy making at Christmastime. Since all our Christmas with family will be after "the day" this year, we decided to host this Christmas dinner on the weekend before Christmas.
Sev and Paul Friskney and Verna and Bill Weber came after 5:30 and stayed till almost 11:00. We laughed (even though Bill said it hurt to laugh after gall bladder surgery Thursday) and talked and snapped a couple of pictures before they left.

Three Days Before Christmas

Christmas (and work!) has definitely gotten in the way of blog/diary writing. But I want to keep track of what I've been doing, so I'll quickly review highlights of the last three days.
Thursday evening Evelyn and I both served at the Healing Center. She's tutoring folks in English for their GED tests, and I help sign up folks for government aid (food stamps, etc) through a computer program called the Benefit Bank. Evelyn works 6:30-8:30 every Thursday; I work 7:00-9:00 one Thursday a month. This week I was there till past 9:20, because an 8:00 appointment was tied up with some other services at the Healing Center, and she didn't get over to me till I almost left because I thought no one was coming at 8:00.
It was a long day, because I had met with my  Thursday morning men's group at 6:00 a.m. at Cracker Barrel for our end-of-the-year breakfast.
The Healing Center (a ministry of Vineyard Cincinnati) was decorated for Christmas, including this beautiful tree.

Friday was my last day in the office till January 2, and I got a lot done. I needed to get a lot done, because we give our February issue to the printer that Friday, January 4. I finished reading the proof (had started Thursday), did some rearranging of pages and cutting of articles that were too long, and wrote some copy to fill a couple of blank spots. I still have more of that to do when I get back to the office, but not more than I'll be able to finish in the time I have. 

The office was VERY QUIET. More people had already started their Christmas break than were at work that day. That seemed to be true for the other offices in the building too. The parking lot was almost empty when I got there after 8:00. 

Shirley Wuske had invited us for dinner that night, and we had a lovely time eating her wonderful food and enjoying the company not only of her and Terry, but also Brandon and Jonathan (in for Christmas from his current landing place in Phoenix, AZ). Chicken marsala, and homemade crescent rolls for the meal and pumpkin cobbler (!) for dessert. All wonderful. All recipes I hope Evelyn will get! Jonathan snapped our picture on his phone as we sat down to eat. 

Today was a productive Saturday: bill paying, late Christmas-card sending, errands to the dry cleaner, post office, and oil change place. We Skyped with Wendy after she had gotten back home from a candlelight and carols service at a Lutheran mission/church in Arusha. She's leaving tomorrow with a missionary couple that are her good friends for a Christmas getaway at a resort on the ocean. She was smiling and in good spirits, and it was good to talk with her. 

This evening Evelyn and I grabbed supper at McAlister's and did a little shopping at Meijer's for some odds and ends Evelyn needed to finish the weekend. We're having friends for dinner tomorrow night and more friends sometime Christmas afternoon or evening. Just enough to feel like we're celebrating. (Just enough for me; Evelyn's been working hard to get ready for these two meals, plus our holiday visit from the Pennsylvania Johnsons starting Wednesday night.)

A Quiet Night

I don't remember a Christmastime when we've been finished decorating so close to Christmas. I think we're about there tonight, December 19. We were supposed to go with the Ambassadors Class on an outing, but we reneged because we planned to go see Bill Weber in the hospital. He was scheduled for gall bladder surgery this morning. But we found out after 5:00 that his surgery was postponed till tomorrow. It was really too late to join the Ambassadors outing, so I just came home . . . and used the time to finish up a couple of pre-Christmas tasks here.
Put up our tabletop tree with the white lights and the white and glass ornaments--it's one of our favorite traditions. And sorted out a mishmash of CD's that hadn't had much attention since last Christmas. Sorry Bill's surgery was delayed. Sorry to miss the fellowship with the Ambassadors. Glad for a quiet evening at home.
Skipped supper and ate a piece of turkey and cheese after 9:00, because Matt Lockhart took his direct reports for lunch today, as a pre-Christmas treat. We went to the Melting Pot and had a feast of cheese fondue; chicken, beef,and shrimp and lobster tail to cook; and chocolate turtle fondue with fruits and cake for dipping. It was a wonderful treat.
Two more days of work before a long Christmas break. Breakfast with my Thursday-morning men's Bible study guys in the morning at our favorite haunt, Cracker Barrel.

Packin' Up

Three households inhabited by people we love will have moved by the end of 2012. In each case, Evelyn and I helped them pack. In each case, what we did to help was almost nothing compared to the huge amount of work they had to do to finish the move. And in each case, we wish we could have helped them more, and we'd help them again in a heartbeat.
But nothing about these moves inspires any desire whatsoever in me to want to move. I'm glad that's not on our horizon anytime soon.
Tonight we went to Bill and Verna Weber's  house to help them pack for their move later this month. It's a huge, huge job ahead of them. I felt like the little we did wasn't much help. I hate to say I'm glad we're not the ones with the moving van in our future.

Monday Before the Monday Before Christmas

Spent a good part of Friday writing an editorial (blog post) that may never see the light of Wordpress. It's about the similar experience of Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds--they all saw an angel. But each of them reacted a little differently, and each of them compares to a situation or challenge or life stage people today can identify with. Each of them was afraid when confronted with God's work and God's will--and sometimes we are too.
It was going to be my big pre-Christmas editorial. But I decided instead today to write something about the tragic shooting at Newtown, Connecticut last Friday, not quite two weeks before Christmas. Ben Cachiaras wrote a good blog post Friday afternoon, and coincidentally Paul Williams's column that goes live this week is about how God identifies with us and our suffering, because he came as a frail infant. Even though I was quoting from both of them, it took me the better part of the day--in between interruptions and e-mails and a productive meeting with the marketing folks this afternoon--to get it written. I'll read it one more time before giving it to Jim to post tomorrow.

Paid bills this evening and worked with Evelyn to get some pictures framed. Now I'm writing this brief diary entry while we watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, "November Christmas," we recorded yesterday.
We realized after it started that we've seen it before, but we're probably going to finish it anyway.

Eight Days Before Christmas

Teach Ambassadors at 8:30 a Christmas-themed lesson based on the appearance of the angel to Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds. CHECK.
Enjoy a good sermon by John Russell at the 9:30 service. CHECK.
Take Evelyn to lunch at one of her favorite places, Abuelo's, pick up a Christmas gift for the grandkids, do a drug run at Walgreen's before heading home. CHECK.
Complete some random decorating: redo wreath for sled to display on the front porch, arrange some artificial Christmas greenery for a blank spot in the living room. CHECK.
Address and stamp the Christmas cards. CHECK.
Put up the Christmas tree . . . a longer process than I'll enunciate, interrupted with wonderful leftover pizza from Dewey's and another long, sad news report about the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. CHECK.
A good day, but at the end of the day, I'm very tired, and my back hurts.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Today was a Christmasey day.
Finished up a Sunday school lesson I'm leading tomorrow; was given carte blanche, so decided to look at three sections from Luke 1 and 2 that I've looked at before. But it was a blessing to study it again for the discussion tomorrow morning.
Then dug into the Christmas cards and got them almost all addressed. Plan to finish up tomorrow, stamping and sealing them.
Took some breaks to help Evelyn pull out the Christ decorations, put away enough everyday dishes to get out the Christmas dinnerware and Christmas mugs. Went to the grocery and to Graeter's to get some gift cards and take advantage of their ice cream pint sale (cinnamon, peppermint stick, and egg nog ice cream for Christmas and following!).
This evening the Cincinnati Symphony and May Festival Chorus performed the first section of Handel's Messiah (plus the "Hallelujah" chorus) at our church this evening. It was a real treat to be so close to the musicians and to hear that marvelous sound fill our auditorium. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would--a real soul-restoring event.
We came home to drink decaf homemade "lattes" and watch the hour-long Christmas special of the Annie Moses Band on public television. (THAT would be a DVD or CD worth having, by the way!)
Tomorrow--the tree!

 I snapped this picture of the platform at our church as concert-goers were arriving for tonight's performance of Messiah, and the picture before as the musicians were taking the stage.

A Nice Break from Desk Work

The unique thing today was a morning-long work day Robb Faust hosted to pack info bags for VBS previews. He had a thousand of 'em to pack, and he recruited helpers from Editorial, Marketing, and Customer Service to do the work. 

"I Help Change Kids' Lives! is the caption
on the bags we filled today.

It was the sort of mindless, rote task that is nice for a change of pace, satisfying because you can see your progress as the bags are filled, the boxes are packed, and the stacks of samplers and circulars are diminished.

Robb and I get to lunch every so often, and we went to Abuelo's today to celebrate his getting the job done several hours faster than he thought he would.

Christmas Scene, Christmas Party

This is one of those days too busy to write about. But I promised I'd post this picture of our nativity scene with the barn Becky Snyder made to house Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. It's a nice addition to the set.

Today was the annual Christmas party at CFM Religion Publishing. A nice spread of catered food preceded by Scripture readings and verses of "Joy to the World." They gave away six door prizes, but I wasn't a winner. This is the TV I did not win. I'm glad, because we don't have a place for it, even though Evelyn and I have been discussing putting a small flat screen in the living room. (We've been discussing it, because she doesn't think we need it, and I'd like to have it. No plans for buying one anytime soon, though.)  :-)

Checking in, Checking up

You could call this my check-up week. Saw my family doctor yesterday for my annual check-up. My blood pressure was lower than it has been recorded in months100+ over 60+. Very good. Talked with the doctor about a couple of minor concerns that we'll keep watching, but no dramatic action indicated at this time. So that's good.
Went to the dentist today for my 6-months check-up. I had a crown on one tooth several months ago, and it's still a little tender once in awhile when I chew something hard. But I couldn't make it hurt today, no matter what he gave me to bite down on. So we agreed that sometimes the healing is slow, and we'll keep watching it. The nurse gently urged me to be better about flossing. I think I can, I think I can.
Ran some errands at Target on the way home and stopped by Michael's to get one more red bow to put on the wreath on the front door. They were out of 'em, but I found another item, and got several of them--can't tell what I found; they'll be a surprise for some people who may read this blog! :-)
Wrote a draft of this week's editorial (goes live Thursday); I'll read it again before giving to Jim to post. Handled a bunch of correspondence about outstanding assignments, our college student subscription plan, and the June Cruise to Turkey, Italy, and Greece we're helping to host this summer. The ad appearing in the December Christian Standard has generated some interest--I think we'll add several to our group as a result of it. That's good!

None of this was particularly picture worthy, so I snapped a shot of our "gumdrop tree" lighting up the night on our deck. That's a heavy stone holding it down, in case of wind. We're going to find something to wrap around the base to make it look a little more attractive.

Wreaths for the Season

Evelyn walked past the other house in the neighborhood that is essentially the same floor plan as ours, and guess what? They decorated the front the same way we did! Wreaths on the windows and floodlights to illuminate them. (They put wreaths only on the front four windows--two on either side of the front door, because their garage opens to the front instead of the side like ours. Our arrangement gives us six windows at the front of the house instead of their four.)
"Maybe they got their idea from you," she ventured.
No matter, my decorating sense has been vindicated, and Evelyn agrees that the wreaths can stay. (The only problem we have is the bright light shining into the front bedroom, even with the wooden blinds closed tight. If Nina sleeps in there at Christmas, we may give her one of those masks they issue passengers on overnight international flights! They really do block out all the light!)
I snapped pictures when I got home from work tonight, but they don't really do justice to the whole dramatic effect!  :-)

These are the wreaths on and above the windows of our garage.

These are the wreaths on the bedroom windows to the left of the front door.

These wreaths are on the dining room windows, to the right of the front door.

Sometime this Christmas I'll take a picture of the whole house from the front sidewalk. Actually, it's pretty simple, but it's what we're doing this year.

Three Days, One Post

I know, I know . . . I haven't been keeping up my daily blogging. Well, I've been BUSY! :-) But let me give this quick summary of the weekend.

FRIDAY

Took the day off. Spent the morning enjoying coffee, Facebook, and the "Today" show. Answered some work e-mails, took a shower, and met Evelyn for lunch at Servatii's at Harper's Point.  Snapped some pictures of the baked goodies in the case before Evelyn and I enjoyed soup and chicken salad half sandwiches.

Looked for bargains and Christmas decorations at Stein Mart, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Target, and Kohl's. Got bargains at the first and last place and Christmas wreaths and bows at Michael's. Scurried home and changed clothes in time to grab supper at the Indian restaurant in Mason before heading to church for the annual Christmas pageant. We enjoyed it, as always.

Snapped this picture of the choir in concert mode during Act II of the Pageant. And this picture of the final moments of the grand tableau with the wise men at the end of Act III.

Connected with Dave and Carol Ray at the pageant and ended up with them at Frisch's for dessert and sat and laughed and talked with them till after 11:00.

SATURDAY

Met Bill and Verna Weber at Bronte Bistro in Joseph Beth Bookstore for breakfast at 9:00. Caught up with each other till about 11:00. Back home, talked with Wendy Wagoner for quite awhile, and then jumped into the day's duties. Evelyn graded papers, and then we mounted the wreaths we had bought Friday on the windows in the front of the house. I bought floodlight holders and bulbs and hooked them up to light the wreaths. Hung the large lighted wreath that Ken Aulen gave us years ago and stood back to enjoy my BRIGHT creation. Evelyn thought it was too much, but she said today it's growing on her. We'll see if the floodlights make it till Christmas.

Enjoyed dinner at Macaroni Grill before heading to Music Hall for the annual Cincinnati Pops holiday show. 

Snapped this picture of folks gathering in the lobby for one of three sold-out shows featuring Amy Grant. It was a different holiday show than the casts of thousands Erich Kunzel always gathered. But the symphony was excellent, as always, and it was refreshing and gratifying to see Amy Grant perform. She told us she's 52 years old now; she's been traveling since she was a teenager. She still has the figure and the pretty good looks of a much younger woman, although her voice is weak on the high notes. But no matter--she comes across as down-to-earth, without pretense, and she offered a testimony to the Lord as she sang her best-known contemporary Christian hits, mixed among Christmas standards, all accompanied by her top-notch combo and two young  back-up singers, one of them the daughter of her husband, Vince Gill. In the middle of her concert, she called Vince to center stage and talked him into singing a song, accompanying himself on her guitar.

SUNDAY

I played piano in the Classic service. The bell choir played Christmas carols at the blended and the classic service today. Snapped their picture from the piano bench.

Afterwards, Evelyn and I stopped by the house to pick up a couple of coupons we had left there. Ate lunch at Panda Express--our first time to try it since it opened this summer. Picked up a picture frame and some other stuff at Kohl's, and then headed home to get on with the day. I went to Kroger's and then decided to take advantage of the mild temperature and dry afternoon to do some yard clean-up. Decided to set up our "gumdrop tree" on the deck where we'll enjoy it even though it's not out in front this year for most of the neighbors to see.
Jennifer called, and we had a nice visit with her before our usual Sunday-evening routine of "60 Minutes" and supper.
Now it's back to work for two solid weeks till more than 10 days off for Christmas and New Year's!

Giving's Fun--Getting, Too!

Don't you just love getting Christmas presents in the mail? Especially when they're fragrant and green with red berries and a tartan bow and variegated holly? Isn't it great to have a fresh and beautiful reminder of friendship and partnership as well as the Christmas joy that underscores the gift with meaning more significant than the value of the gift itself?
That's the kind of gift that came to Evelyn and me today from a valued friend and colleague. It's beautiful, and it will be a centerpiece on one or the other of our tables throughout the Christmas season. And this picture will remind me of my friend's goodness and generosity for years to come.

Had a pleasant evening. Visited Dave Wick at Bethesda North where he had surgery today. He and his good wife seem pleased with the outcome, and he's hoping to be home tomorrow.
Then I went to the Healing Center at the Vineyard and worked with Evelyn's GED students so she could go to a ladies neighborhood party tonight. I really enjoyed the two gals I met there. I may have done them some good, I'm not sure; but I really had fun talking with them and hearing their stories. Here are two hard-working 50+-year-old ladies who are committed to getting their GEDs. I really hope they do!

Find the Mark

Took two carloads of my coworkers to lunch today--all of them colleagues in our magazines work at Standard Publishing. Forgot to ask the waitress to take our picture, but I got the folks to pose for a picture outside the restaurant, Ferrari's Little Italy in Madeira. Then one of them, our Creative Services Director, Mark Haas, told me to jump into the frame and he snapped a second picture. He offered to Photoshop me into the first picture, but it's easier just to post both pix here. :-)

The lunch was a fun and tasty interruption to a productive planning day Paul and I enjoyed. Tomorrow I'm going to try to follow up on all of the ideas and assignments I've jotted down as a result.

The Best Part of Christmas?

Don't you love Christmas gifts? Especially when they arrive in the mail in a BIG styrofoam box? And when you open 'em, they're full of FOOD?! Steaks and pork chops and twice-baked potatoes and stuffed sole (and, oh yeah, there were hamburgers and "gourmet franks" in there too!).

Evelyn's brother and his wife sent us these goodies for Christmas, and we're having fun deciding when to eat them.

Needless to say, this was the most exciting part of the day. But the rest of the day was fairly productive. My desk is straight, and I have a long list of decisions to make and plans to finalize with Paul Williams when he shows up in the office tomorrow.

I'm taking the magazine people out to lunch, along with Mark Haas and Jared Alexander and Matt Lockhart--it's a Christmas celebration. And like the best Christmas celebrations, it's going to involve wonderful food!

I Wish it Could Look a Lot More Like Christmas

It happens every year about now. My to-do list is overflowing with important to-dos, and none of them has anything to do with decorating for Christmas, stringing lights outside, putting up the tree, or arranging greenery and candles on the mantel. Evelyn and I both have the bug to put away the gourds and scarecrows and pull out the snowmen and Christmas china. But, no time yet to get at it.
I did stop by Lowe's on the way home from church yesterday, though, to see what they were offering for illuminated outside decor. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed--nothing there struck my fancy. But I did snap their lighted Christmas tree display before I left.

Had a productive day at work today--some correspondence about our cruise/tour next summer, read the last half of a Lookout proof and the first half of the Christian Standard January proof. We had our last art meeting for the February issue, and I got out of the office right after 5:00 to run three errands on the way home. I thought, as I was getting home about 6:40, that I was having my Saturday afternoon on Monday evening. Went to the dry cleaner, the grocery, the pharmacy in the grocery, and the gas station. Discovered that it had been awhile since I had cashed in my Kroger's gas points. I had 700 of 'em, which gave me a discount of 70 cents a gallon on my gas. Here's the evidence. I got my gas tonight cheaper than anytime I can remember.

Purdue for the Holidays

I had heard the Purdue Glee Club several years ago, an energetic powerhouse of a male choir that presented one of the most engaging musical shows I'd ever seen. So when Joan Maxwell told us the church's Evergreen group was going to Purdue for their annual Christmas show, I told Evelyn, "Let's go!"
I could have only imagined what a wonderful program it would be. Today was the day. We left the church about 7:30 a.m. for the three-hours-plus drive to Lafayette, which gave us plenty of time to go to the restroom after we arrived and be at the doors when they opened at 11:30.
As soon as we entered the theater, we were serenaded by Christmas classics played in an upbeat style by a versatile theater organ. Then came time for the show. The first half--about an hour--was a tour de force of singing and dancing by the school's several different choirs in a musical revue that's worthy of Broadway. It's hard to imagine that Purdue doesn't even offer a music major and all these students are volunteers. The act ended with the stage full of all the singers, more than 200 of them, and the arrival of a flying Santa as the finale.
Then came the second act--with all these hundreds of singers arranged in silver robes on risers in a massive choir to sing another hour of sacred Christmas songs. You won't hear a more Jesus-centered, God-honoring program in any church this season. It was thrilling and remarkable.
It's difficult to describe the impact of these always-smiling, moving, performing singers. When they used choreography, it was perfect. When they were moving freely, each singer expressing his own personality, it was engaging. When they stood perfectly still and sang a capella (only once or twice in the whole concert; the rest was accompanied by a top-rate live orchestra), their performance was perfect.
(For a clip of last year's show, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leXQrGQCWFU, which gives a better idea of the impact of these performers.)
We ate dinner as a group before leaving Lafayette and enjoyed happy conversation with the 51 others on the bus, all the way there and back. It was a great day. And we got home in time for me to report on it here!

 I snapped this picture of the stage as guests were arriving for the noon show today.