Thanksgiving and Reflecting on Home

Thanksgiving Day.  Wednesday was spent getting things ready, and yesterday was the big day. I wrote this early Thursday morning, but quite obviously never got back to it.  

I woke up early Thursday morning, and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went ahead and got up. Wednesday, after we finished everything and enjoyed a few minutes in the hot tub, we sat down to relax and turned on the TV.  What show should be on but one of the old favorites from years ago - A Charlie Brown Christmas.  We tuned in just about the time when Charlie Brown and the gang loaded into his parents' station wagon and headed to Grandma's house, er, condominium.  So naturally what song is on my mind today?  Over the River and Through the Woods.  It's an appropriate song to begin my reflection today, as I think about my family. 

I was raised in Cleveland, and in a lot of ways that always will be home. But there is no home there any longer.  Mom and Dad left Cleveland roughly 30 years ago and while the houses are still there, none of them are home any longer. Our family is very spread out, so returning home to visit and be with the extended family doesn't happen over the holidays. This summer we did have a family reunion with those who were able to attend, and roughly 35 people were there. If everyone had been in attendance, it would have been closer to 90. 

But that's past.  My family now consists of my husband, Tom and my children Charles, Dianna, Matthew, Amanda, bonus sons Tommy and Andrew, daughters in law Jodie, Mary and Kortney, son in law Mark, grandchildren Ian, Abigail and Aiden and bonus grandson Corey.  My kids will came Over the River and Through the Woods to Nana's house for dinner. Well, actually over the (dry) washes and through the traffic lights that is!  And no horses or snow to deal with!  Andrew, Kortney and Aiden had a Facetime call with Tom, as they live in Tennessee.  Tommy, he's a different story and one for another day.    We had the usual spread -  turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, veggies, cheese plate, kolach, sea salt caramel cookie bars, and cheesecake. We aren't a pie family although I should have made an apple one this year. We were joined by a bonus guest family - Amanda's co-worker Gen Varner just had a newborn baby and none of their family made it to town for the holidays, so we invited the family to join us.   Gen, Chris, 2 and a half-year-old Riley, and 1 week old Benjamin came and Chris brought a turkey to deep fry!  Riley was a joy to watch. He managed to turn on every light switch he could find, fell in love with my chair and then Tom's chair, pulled the step-ladder over to the thermostat and tried to change it - general 2.5-year-old mischief.  Baby Benjamin was passed around from person to person, all of whom fell in love.   

Since it was Thanksgiving I wanted to share some things I'm thankful for.  First, my family - especially Tom, who gained 4 children when we were married in 2001. He has unselfishly provided for us all these years.  I'm thankful for the good day it was - lots of food and good company.  I'm thankful for the freedom that we have to set aside a day specifically to thank the Lord for his provision over the past year.  I'm thankful to live in a country where there are so many opportunities, there for the taking if you work hard enough.  I'm thankful that at least for now we have the freedom to worship as we wish.  I"m thankful for good friends, especially those who have remained so even though the miles and years separate us.  But mostly I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he offered on the Cross so long ago so that I might be able to have a relationship with God. I pray that I can reflect that in my life and that others would see HIm through me. 

 May you have a wonderful rest-of-the-holiday weekend.   

(Sadly I didn't get many pictures. That has to change for Christmas!) 

Chores and Sewing Machine Woes!

It's the day before Thanksgiving. Lots of things planned today -mostly centering around cleaning and prep for tomorrow.  I need to do the cranberry relish, make a batch of sea salt caramel cookie bars, dust everything, clean the bathroom, sweep and mop. So I think the gym won't happen today. 

But first - today is Craft day :)  Yesterday I finished the quilt for Amanda's friend's baby.  It was an easy disappearing 4-patch pattern. My intention was to quilt it using a decorative stitch and free motion the borders, but when I went to sample the decorative stitch, I neglected to change the presser foot and the plate and promptly broke a needle.  Apparently, it damaged the timing because my tension is way off on anything other than a straight stitch.  So I did a stitch in the ditch and nothing on the borders.  Because it's for a baby, I didn't hand sew the binding, rather I machine sewed it down. I could adjust the tension for straight stitching, and the quilt actually came out pretty good.

There is a bit of a silver lining. I'll be bringing the machine back to the shop to get the timing fixed, and hopefully, the warranty covers the mistake I made. BUT - Tom said I can look for a new simple machine!  Not an elaborate one, but one that will do piecing.  I can get a simple one for under $100, but he said to wait until Friday and see what Black Friday sales are out there and possibly get a slightly higher grade one!  So, that's what I'll be doing Black Friday - looking for a new machine!  He understands the value of having two machines now, especially since I have two people who want me to make things for them, and they are paying for it!  When I finish all the chores today, my plan is to cut out the fabric for the table runners and the soup cozies that have been requested. 

I'm also on the hunt for projects to do with my Cricut.  I have canvas sitting here, and vinyl sitting here. I just need to figure out how to put the two together in an attractive package!  A couple of years ago, I saw a picture of a ballerina with "Just Dance" next to her. I think I'm going to try to do that for Abby. Even though she's no longer in dance, she's still a dancer at heart. 

My quiet time this morning was Matthew 6:25-33.  It was a good reminder that God provides everything we need.  When I think about where I've come and those who are less fortunate than I am, especially those who have lost everything in the fires in California, I cannot help but be grateful for how blessed I am.  If it were all burned away, I only pray that I would still be as grateful to the Lord for his provision.  May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

First Baking Day

Getting Ready

Yesterday was baking day.  After the chiropractor, a workout, starting laundry, some writing, I started the year Kolach baking.  Before I did, I posted the picture to the left to Facebook and asked if anyone knew what I was making. I fully expected to get a few question mark answers, but I also expected to get responses from my nephew Jesse Chapple, and nieces Olivia Gattozzi and Jen Centofanti.  They didn't disappoint.  Olivia knew, but couldn't remember what it was called, Jesse of course nailed it! Jen chimed in and didn't see that I tagger her, but she knew.  Of my own kids, Chuck just responded with "how may loaves are you making?" and Matt Facebook "shamed" Olivia for not knowing!  A couple of other people made guesses, but only on got it right - a fellow Kolach baker who knows exactly what it is!  Oh, and one friend who has not had it was threatened by Chuck and Matt over the loaves!  I'll definitely have to bring Rachel Rushing a loaf of her own!  

Anyhow,  I ended up making 10 loaves but discovered that I made 2 mistakes.  First, I used bread flour. In the past, this wasn't an issue, but this time the dough really raised and I the kolach came out much more bread-like than I would have liked. Second, I cut the dough for 12 loaves, only to discover that I only have 10 pans. I would have put the remaining two on a cookie sheet, but there wasn't room in my oven for that as well. So, I smooshed together the last 7 loaves into 5, 3 of which are ginormous!  Then the filling spread out all over the pans.  Oh well. Every year it's something, but I don't hear my kids complaining when they cut into them!  They still taste wonderful!

Finished Product

I was going to make a cheesecake for Thursday, but Matt told me yesterday that he's planning on bringing two. So instead the plan is to make sea salt caramel cookie bars. And I really need to start cookies for next Friday night's get together.  But first I have to finish this baby quilt.  All that is left is quilting the borders and binding it. 

Menu for Thursday as far as I know right now is:

Turkey - using  Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey Recipe

Tom's sausage dressing

Seven Layer Salad - Chuck

Sweet Potatoes - Abby

Cheesecakes and green bean casserole - Matt

Veggie Platter - Dianna

Mashed Potatoes - Amanda

I'm also going to have a variety of cheese, crackers, and fruit as appetizers. 

My Scripture writing this morning was Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

As we enter the holiday season, I'm going to set about to lay up treasures in heaven - memories with my now adult kids, reaching out to neighbors, and starting to work with a young Ethiopian mom as she wants to better her English skills.  Those are the treasurers I'm going to pursue this year.   

The Painted Door

Yesterday's service was really good, from the music to the message.  We sang In Christ Alone and Scandal of Grace.  It's kind of hard sometimes to sing those, especially  Scandal because it reminds me of Living Lord's Supper.  I didn't realize the impact Pastor Dick had on me until I hear songs that we did under his direction and the memories come rushing back.  I am grateful for the years I sat under his direction in choir, and even more so for the two and a half years, he was my boss.  I learned so much from him about how to do ministry. Even though I'm not serving any longer, those lessons will forever remain with me.

Pastor Eric painting the door posts to symbolize
the Blood of the Lamb.  Picture credit goes to
Donna South Petersen 

The message was from Exodus 12:1-13, 21-28 - the Tenth Plague.  Pastor Eric had a visual of a door frame on stage.  As he read the scripture and gave his message, the visual reminder of the door stained with blood left a lasting impression.  There were three lessons that he emphasized: 

First, the lesson about propitiation, which is a sacrifice that takes away God's wrath against our sin.  With each of the other plagues, Israel was spared while Egypt suffered. But this one was different. This one would affect everyone who did not obey God's command.  Jesus is our propitiation now, and the only way of escaping God's wrath over our sin is to accept his sacrifice as the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2)

The second lesson was about substitution.  In Exodus, the substitution was a perfect, spotless lamb. It was chosen by the family and brought into the house where it was cared for.   I imagine that the children in the family would have grown attached to it.  It would have seemed like a family pet to them, probably much loved.  So it would have been hard for them to witness the sacrifice.  But witness it they did.  The blood of the perfect lamb saved their lives that night. And the Blood of the Spotless Lamb of God saves our lives.  As Pastor Eric said - "Our sin is counted to Jesus. His perfection is counted to us. 

Every morning I get up and write out scripture and yesterday was no different. I look at the passage that is scheduled for the day and write it out in my journaling notebook.  Well, for some reason I wrote out the wrong chapter. It was supposed to be Galatians 6:1-6, but I wrote out of chapter 5 instead.   But I honestly believe that was a God-thing because third point was the lesson about Freedom and Galatians 5:1-6 reads as follows: 

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians+5&version=ESV>

All the other plagues failed to convince Pharoah to let the people go. But this one.  This one affected him in a way that was unlike the others and he finally relented.  The people were free to leave.  Their freedom, and our freedom came only with the death of the Perfect Lamb.  John 8:36 - If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.   

We may not be enslaved by a cruel Pharoah, but there are things that have enslaved us.  Worry.  Fear.  Addictions.  A past that haunts us.  We can be free of them. Our freedom - my freedom and yours - is freely offered to us. All we have to do is receive it is acknowledge that we aren't free by our own doing but through the blood of the Spotless Lamb.  Who the Son has freed is freed indeed. 

I couldn't help but think of the lyrics of the song Written in Red, and I like Janet Paschal's version. (Written in Red...I LOVE YOU! (Janet Paschal)

In letters of crimson, God wrote His love
On the hillside so long, long ago;
For you and for me Jesus died,
And love's greatest story was told.

1
I love you, I love you
That's what Calvary said;
I love you, I love you,
I love you, Written in Red

Down through the ages, God wrote His love
With the same hands that suffered and bled;
Giving all that He had to give,
A message so easily read.

2
I love you, I love you,
That's what Calvary said;
I love you, I love you,
I love you...

Bridge
Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood,
The blood of Jesus.

1
I love you, I love you
That's what Calvary said;
I love you, I love you,
I love you, Written... In Red

Fitness Friday

For a few years now, I've been convicted that I've not been taking care of my body very well.  I was terribly overweight, had high blood pressure, heart issues and am at risk for diabetes. I know this is not how God would have me care for this temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So I set about to make some major changes.

First, I got a FitBit.  It gave me the incentive I needed.  I started walking, working out on the elliptical that up until then had become a glorified clothes rack, and watched what I ate.  Pounds started slowly coming off and I was feeling better.  A year later, Tom was offered an Apple watch at work, and since he didn't really want it, I took it.  Filling those activity circles every day became a personal challenge.  About the same time, I started riding.  We live in a great town for bike riding, and where we lived at the time there were two convenient routes to take.  I would ride 2-3 times a week, usually about 10 miles a day. Tom and I would ride longer distances together on Saturdays.  Between eating healthy and the bike riding and other exercises, I managed to drop 50 pounds.

This was an early routine! Much harder now!
I've increased the weights, and now I don't
do the easier variations of them. 

I had returned to work and when we moved into town we joined Desert Sports, a gym near us. I would get up at 4:30 every morning to go work out.  However, after two years, I moved into a new full-time position.  I thought it would be a good fit, but I soon realized that I was the epitome of the Peter Principle.  I found myself stress eating and soon re-gained 20 of the pounds I had worked so hard to lose.  Due to a number of issues, I decided it was time to leave that position and I officially retired.

I started working out with a trainer at the gym, and it's been the best thing for me.  I honestly do think I'm stronger now than when I started. He puts me through different routines each week, and I do some of them now on the days when I'm not meeting with him, in addition to 45-60 minutes of cardio 5 days a week. I used to get on the elliptical, but my knee doesn't like it, so I'm switching it up now - elliptical one day, treadmill one day, stationary bike the rest of the time.  The bike isn't nearly as hard on my knees and I can actually go longer with no pain.

On Saturdays Tom and I ride longer distances on The Loop a paved bike path that circumnavigates Tucson.  The entire Loop is more than 120 miles, through desert areas (not so fun in the summer) and tree-shaded areas (much nicer ;) ).  It's nice to ride without having to deal with traffic. People - bikers, in-line skaters, runners, walkers - are very friendly - they are there for the same reason - to get fit!  The farthest we've gone to date is 38 miles. Our goal is to eventually ride the entire Loop, which, from our house minus the extensions, is 60 miles.  I know we'll make it, it just takes training to get there.  I'd honestly say that the hardest part, however, is the "pain in the rear!"  Trust me, riding that far is hard on your tail! I really need to look for a newer, more comfortable seat.  I'm learning to listen to my body, eat the right foods for long distance rides, and not hit a wall so soon where I'm dizzy and about to pass out!  At the suggestion of my cardiologist, I now bring Gatorade and energy gels, which I can use if I need them.

Speaking of my cardiologist - I had an appointment with him yesterday, and he was very pleased with my progress.  In fact, my blood pressure was so low that he's reduced some of my meds. He said that if I continue with losing weight and working out, I might eventually be able to get off all the blood pressure meds.

Next week I'll share more about how we have changed our eating habits.

(For some reason, I'm having trouble linking Desert Sports and The Loop.  Here's the long links to them:  Desert Sports - https://desertsportsandfitness.com/tucson-pantano/; The Loop - http://webcms.pima.gov/government/the_loop/.  If you want to check them out, you may need to copy/paste in your browser. I'm going to have to get help fixing this for next time! {Any Blogger experts out there??})

Philippians 3: 12 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Genealogy and Family Resemblance

Genealogies. We all have them, and there seems to be interest more than ever in researching and finding our roots.  My mother, Julia Ruth Ingle Schultz, was an avid amateur genealogist. She amassed research upon research, spending hours in dusty courthouse basements, pouring over records, to discover our family history.  When she passed in 2010, I inherited all her work.  Cases and cases of notebooks, pictures, files.  They’ve sat, neglected, for 8 years.

Dad - William Andrew Schultz and his grandson Zackary Bigley

Late this summer, I found myself basically retired.  I resigned my position and both Tom and I decided that I might as well stay home.  So, I thought that my time had finally come to resurrect my quilting hobby.  That went well; at least until my sewing machine decided it wanted spa treatment!   So… what to do with all my free time now?  Ah – those boxes are staring at me!  I pulled them out, and no sooner than I did that, but two different people from two different lines of our genealogy messaged me with questions about Mom’s research!  One thing led to another, and now I’m engrossed in preserving ancient pictures, most of which are unidentifiable.

  

Dad and Zack

This whole ordeal has led to some interesting developments.  I found out that one of the women who contacted me, Allie Farooq, is a 4^th cousin of mine, through the Farmer/Gibson side.  Our conversations have led to what will eventually be a visit from her to pour over Mom’s research.   My children, who have never before expressed interest in this, have suddenly become fascinated by their history, to the point that my oldest, Chuck, has put together a genealogy showing not only my side of the family but his father’s as well.  He’s come upon roadblocks there, but he’s not giving up. 

We believe this is my Grandmother, Eva Gibson Ingle

My Granddaughter - Abigail Lynn Starks

It’s been interesting looking at old pictures.  Finding ones of my parents when they were young and carefree.  Discovering that my granddaughter, Abigail, looks JUST LIKE what we believe is her great-great grandmother.  Finding a picture of my father, and comparing it to my nephew – the resemblance is uncanny!   Seeing all the old houses that they lived in, that I lived in.  Just seeing how life has changed in the past century.  Many of the pictures are from the very early 1900s.  So far, I have a 1.5” binder full to the brim, and a second 1” binder!

If you have living parents, please talk to them. Hear their stories.  Write them down.  Go through the old pictures and write names and as much information as you can on them!  You won’t regret it later on, and neither will future generations.

Quilting!

I finally got my machine back, after 3 weeks, and can get back to sewing.  My plan was to make Chuck and Jodie (son and daughter-in-law)  a hexagon table topper, but when I pulled out the instructions, I discovered I didn't print out the entire pattern and was missing critical steps.  So - Plan B.  I opted to design my own, based on an Ohio Star.  In the picture, the fabric is in the upper left.  I have about 1/2 the squares cut, and once I get them all cut will go together pretty quickly.

For those of you who quilt, and design your own patterns, you know the pain of erasing colored pencils. I was erasing, without much success, when I remembered I had a clear plastic page divider. I pulled it out, and grabbed my dry erase colored pencils, and voila!  I drew the dimensions on my graph paper, put the overlay on top, and color away!  Make a mistake or change my mind? Easy peasy to erase and start again!  The picture is very rough, but it gave me the idea I needed to figure out what to do.  The final design may differ slightly, depending on how I change the layout once I get the blocks all sewn. 

I would probably have mostly finished the table topper today, except for the fact that I had a surprise visitor. Amanda (youngest daughter) is babysitting a very active 2 and a half year old for a  co-worker who just had her second baby early this morning.  I haven't had a toddler in the house in some time!  It was fun going to the playground in our development and watching Reilly running around playing on the slide and swinging away.  Because of him, I also discovered that a brown paper bag makes a perfect chalkboard for a toddler!   Amanda told me that he doesn't have grandparents nearby - his father is Active Duty Air Force - and his mom said she would welcome a surrogate grandmother for her kids!  So, I decided to do what any quilter would do - time to make a baby quilt on the spur of the moment.  So that's the fabric in the upper right of the picture.  It will be a simple 5" patch quilt, with very simple quilting. I'm going to run by the store and pick up some flannel to use as the backing. Since we live in Arizona, a thicker quilt isn't really that necessary, and using flannel will make it much softer anyhow.  That quilt will come together very quickly, I should have it done by the end of the day tomorrow. 

The next few weeks will be spent doing a LOT of quilting - I have a friend who wants me to make her a table runner and another who wants a soup cozy.  Then I have three more Christmas table runners for family, Amanda's quilt, a quilt for my sister using fabric she bought in Paris, a quilt for my niece, and...and...and... Well, you get the idea.  I think I have kits put together for 6 quilts in total. Oh, and did I mention tomorrow is the Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival in Tucson?  Guess where I'll be at least part of the day?