new chair

Thanks to a nice man on Craigslist who was willing to make a delivery with his Jeep,

I have a new wicker chair in my bedroom.

Sticky

I pitted a big bag of dates the other day.

Healthy

I found this giant potato chip tin at an antique shop when I was home in Michigan over Christmas break.

The fine print reads: Made from carefully selected potatoes processed in hydrogenated vegetable shortening, with salt added. [emphasis my own]

I'm pretty sure some current day health food snack packaging may some day wind up in antique stores inducing chuckles like this fifty year old can of healthy, scientifically processed potato chips!

fresh

I bought myself a petite bouquet at Trader Joe's* last week, and it's still bringing me cheer each day.

*It takes a couple hours to get to any Trader Joe's from here, so Sara and I were excited to learn there is one just five miles from the Dulles Airport-- where Sam and Sara were flying into last week from their Southern Africa visit!

fun & games

When we were all home for Christmas we had a blast playing multiple rounds of CodeNames.

One evening, Amy and Joel invited others to join them on a walk down Hail to the Chief memory lane... {for those who don't know, Amy and Joel went through a life phase of playing Hail to the Chief daily... I never went through that life phase...}. 

I spent the evening observing the game and remembering all the questions I used to get wrong when I played with Amy and Joel years ago. 

PS- Happy Birthday, Brian!

Big Sky

our side yard

Last month when I was home, I had a wonderful time soaking in the vast Michigan sky, painted for many hours of the day with icy shades of pink, yellow, and peach in addition to the standard blue and white. I forgot a bit what northern winter skies look like-- the beauty in the frigid-ness, and the multi-hour long sunrises and sunsets.

Of course, photos never do justice to the sky, but I snapped a couple as reminders of the lovely icy hues I enjoyed during the bitter cold.

And, by bitter cold, I mean:

below zero wind chills nearly every day I was home, with temperatures climbing into single and then sometimes double digits during the middle of the day (one day I thought 12F sounded like spring... and then I felt the wind!). I was glad for my down coat and multiple layers of clothing every day.

heading home from town

Michigan Christmas

Grandpa would have been delighted with the gift tree Christmas morning.

my contributions to the tree

Christmas brunch. yum.yum.yum.

Mom's friends who own a Chinese restaurant made special steamed dumplings for our Christmas brunch. It was fun to try a new food.

Other treats included venison sausage from Josh's deer, homemade mini quiche by Libby (so amazing), frozen mini cream puffs, and Williams cheese with crackers.

Amy gave me this crazy carry-on bag! What a fun surprise. I received multiple compliments (two from strangers!) the first time I traveled with it. Inconspicuous would not be an accurate description of the bag  :).

Other gifts I received included a tomato knife, chocolates, a miniature creamer, a kitchen sink (more on that later) and a cooler.

It was a fun and delicious Christmas Day.

So good to be home with family.

good eats

Stir fry with the sibs on Kids Night Off.

Waffles and strawberries for breakfast.

view

view from Amy's office windows

I miss having an office view.

(my current desk faces a corner and there are no windows nearby)

Pennsylvania Christmas

The Miller clan invited me to join their sibling Christmas festivities at Sam and Sara's house. Sam and Sara have the perfect house for hosting Christmas-- one of those old New-England-styled borough houses with wood floors and ample character just waiting to be brightened up with candles, winter berries, and greenery.

Sara's sweet touches were thoughtfully placed in each room, creating a calm and lovely atmosphere of warmth and cheer. (Although baby did not appreciate the handmade Christmas poppers!)

We had a special evening, and I was really blessed to be part of the good times.

chitenje bunting from Malawi

Candlelight Christmas with the Susquehanna Chorale

For my birthday, Sharon gave me tickets for the two of us to attend the Susquehanna Chorale's Christmas concert.

We went with Sam and Sara, and Seth and Amy.

And we were not disappointed (with the company or the performance).

My favorite phrase of the concert was from El Rorro:

Jesus being guarded by an elephant and mosquito is some new imagery :).

This Christmastide was one of my favorite pieces of music performed at the concert.

remote access

I am so blessed to be able to periodically work remotely.