First Sunday in Advent

Advent candles on the altar reminded me that today was the first Sunday in Advent. Christmas can't be far behind. The theme of pastor's sermon was "Stay Awake." He asked "Are you still expecting Jesus' return?" Then he reminded us to stay awake. We don't know when our Savior returns. It's easy to fall asleep spiritually so we need to be careful. What are we counting on to fulfill our hopes and dreams? It can't be things of this world; we need to rely on our Lord and Savior.

It's been a rainy day and the Colts had another failed attempt. At one point they tied the game and could have tied it a second time near the end, but they couldn't execute. Now they go on the road again. This was a game they could have won.

Thanksgiving 2011

We slept a little later than usual on Thanksgiving morning but soon were busy in the kitchen and throughout the house taking care of last-minute preparations. By 12:30 the turkey was in the oven. We expected Karen, Carl, Veronica, Bob and Laura to arrive sometime in mid-afternoon with dinner planned for late afternoon/early evening. Most everything was ready when our guests arrived. Veronica brought along a rifle that had been her father's to give to Ray.

Ray is now the owner of an antique rifle.

I used a new recipe for the turkey and basted it with an apple cider mixture. When we took it out of the oven, it looked like it was burnt, but the basting sauce gave it the dark glaze.

Ray sharpened the knife and then
began carving.

We gathered around the table for a toast and prayer.

Bob, Ron, Karen, Carl, Ray and Laura

Thanks to Laura who took the second group photo that included me.

Bob, Ron, Karen, Carl, Ruth (me) and Ray

After our meal and dessert, the guys helped by serving as dishwasher and dish dryer.

They made short work of the clean-up.

On Friday morning we left the house at 8:20 for downtown Indianapolis. No, we weren't part of the Black Friday crowd, but were headed for the Indiana Historical Society. We arrived just as the doors opened. Near the front desk was a display straight from A Christmas Story prepared for visitors to use as a photo opportunity. We took advantage! The movie takes place in the fictionalized town of Hohman, Indiana explaining why the Historical Society had an elaborate display.

Laura, Karen and Veronica pose next to the iconic leg lamp
that was part of the subplot of the movie.

Bob is always willing to participate in a photo and donned a pink bunny costume, as seen here.

Laura holds the Red Ryder BB gun that
was coveted by Ralphie in the movie.

Notice the white cotton tail proving this is a bunny costume.

And here's a group photo. Can you tell we were having fun and we had only arrived at the museum five minutes before?

Karen, Laura, Bob and me (holding the Red Ryder BB gun);
Veronica is standing behind the sofa.

I'm not sure Carl enjoys sitting this
close to a pink bunny.

Were they hoping to take one home?

Next we visited the first two of three "You Are There" experiences created by the Historical Society. The first experience depicts a scene from December 9, 1920. The Indianapolis police have confiscated a still and have it displayed as evidence against the owner; the owner of the still is in a holding cell waiting for his lawyer. A woman from the temperance union tries to get us to sign a pledge.

Clara  Sears handed us a temperance card.

Everything looked authentic!

Veronica donned a hat and coat and had me take a photo with the prisoner.

Enjoying a chat with the prisoner!

We also experienced the occasion when Robert F. Kennedy visited Indianapolis on April 4, 1968 as the presidential candidate and announced to the waiting crowd the assassination of Martin Luther King. His moving words calmed the shocked crowd and is credited for avoiding riots. (We were not allowed to take photos in this exhibit.)

Our third experience was visiting a Jewish home on April 5, 1950. The family had been living in a displaced persons camp in Stuttgart, Germany for several years and a local Indianapolis aid society helped them settle in their new home. They only had five days to make all the arrangements.

The three experiences are conducted by first person interpreters who do a tremendous job keeping in character and in costume.

We returned home in time for lunch of a turkey sandwich. Shortly after that, Nancy, Kylie, Dustin and Jayden arrived for an afternoon visit. They had not seen their aunts, uncles and cousin for two years or more.

Ray took everyone who wanted to go on a nature walk. The weather was ideal: sunshine, mild temperatures and only a light breeze. It truly was a nature walk. The first encounter was with a praying mantis:

Not everyone would be willing to let a
Praying Mantis climb on their arm.

Near the garden as they begin their walk:

Karen, Dustin, Laura, Veronica, Kylie, Ray & Nancy with
Jayden in the front row.

Later, some played disc golf, ladders and Jayden tried his hand at flying a kite.

He couldn't keep it up very long, but it was fun trying!

When everyone was back inside, it was time for a group photo.

Ray, Dustin and Jayden in front. Back row includes me, Veronica, Bob,
Karen, Carl, Laura, Nancy and Kylie.

Several bets were placed on the LSU-Arkansas football game. Ray and Bob lost and Laura gathered her winnings:

Reluctantly, the guys turn over their $2 each.

That's the story of our two-day Thanksgiving Holiday. Lots of fun memories!

First time ever!

Yes, I'm 99.9% sure that this is the first time I've had the house decorated for Christmas for Thanksgiving! We're expecting Ray's sisters, spouses and niece tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner and they have never visited at Christmas time so I thought it might be interesting for them. I think they'll be surprised!

Today I hung a corn husk wreath that my sister Judy made for me many years ago. It's always fun to get it out of the closet and hang it on a window.

I've been busy for the last week cleaning and decorating and yesterday and today I've been cooking and baking. Tomorrow I'll get the turkey in the oven and finish preparing the side dishes and setting the table. It's a fun time of year.

Early Thanksgiving dinner

Today we celebrated the 55th anniversary of Concordia with a Thanksgiving dinner. But first, I went to the 8:00 service. The pastor's sermon began with the story of a little girl who was given $2 by her father as she left for church. He told her that $1 was for her offering and she could spend the other dollar on candy. As she walked along, a strong wind caught one of the bills and blew it into a storm drain. The small girl looked up and said "Lord, there went your dollar." The point of the story is that aren't we like that? Don't we put ourselves first? Statistics tell us that 20% of the people give 80% of offerings. Are we growing in giving?

After the service I joined several others in the church kitchen cutting pies and getting the desserts plated for the meal that would follow the second service. The turkey, dressing, potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls and cranberry sauce were catered. Desserts were provided by members and we had pies, cakes, cookies and brownies. If I had taken my camera, I could have shared a display that was mouth watering and tempting to say the least.

When the meal was over we headed to the JoAnn Fabric store. I planned to purchase a piece of felt to make a Christmas tree skirt and found what I wanted. There was a long queue to have my piece cut but fortunately after a few minutes of waiting two additional cutters arrived so then there were four. I also purchased some trim and just finished stitching it a few minutes ago. Now I'm wondering if I should add any other embellishments to the skirt. Probably not this year. I've been doing some cleaning and preparation for Thanksgiving guests and still have more to do. Only three more days to finish those tasks!

Ohio Visit

Yesterday after our workout at the Rec Center we headed to Cincinnati to visit my childhood friend Gloria Meyer and her husband Larry. We haven't seem them for several years. About 14 months ago they moved into an apartment. When we arrived at their new home, we had a quick tour and then Larry drove us past their old house where they had lived for more than 30 years. A new office building is under construction behind their former home and it surely has changed the horizon as the building towers above the houses though it can't be classified as a high rise. It's just big and long.

We visited the clubhouse that's just a short walk from their home. Very nice amenities. Then we settled into our favorite pastime when we get together. Playing bridge and catching up on families.

Gloria served a delicious meal of lasagna, green beans, roll and fruit salad and I provided sweet potato pie which is a good imitation of pumpkin pie.

We don't really remember our first years as friends because we were just babies. Our parents were friends and would regularly get together to play cards and have a potluck meal. In this next photo Gloria shows me her family's group photo printed on a pillow.

By mid-morning we were bidding farewell and giving Gloria and Larry a hug as they stood outside their front door.

Thinking that the time between visits had been too long, we made preliminary plans to get together next spring.

Weekend Review

It's been a great day to stay indoors considering the very blustery conditions outdoors. I have no idea how strong the wind gusts were, but they have been awesome.

Today Pastor John preached on Bearing Fruits with our Talents. Our talents are unique to each of us -- some have more -- but we all have some. The question posed is are we using our abilities, talents, gifts and skills to His glory? An example to mull over would be Moses. God used him even though he thought he didn't have the skills needed.

We listened the the Colts lose again today. What more can I say? The Colts are the only team without a win. Two other teams at the bottom of the standings have two wins each.

Yesterday we spent an enjoyable evening with the Walkers. First we had dinner at Iria's Italian Restaurant. Following that we had tickets for the Indianapolis Children's Choir concert, Celebrate America, at the recently renovated Indiana Landmarks Center. All veterans, including Ray and Max, had free admission. Can't beat that! Even if they had had to purchase their tickets it would have been worthwhile. The two choirs displayed their talents with a variety of selections. Also on the program was a woman who was an incredibly talented clogger.

Since we had a  busy Saturday, we enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening at home today.

Kids Against Hunger

We left home just a few minutes before eight o'clock and headed off to St. John Lutheran on the southeast side of Indianapolis. It took us about a half hour to reach our destination. Members of four churches were collaborating on a packing event to assemble meals that are sent overseas and also distributed to local food pantries. This was the 2nd year in a row that we had volunteered for the 2-1/2 hour shift.

Each food package contains powdered vitamins/minerals, dehydrated vegetables, soy crumbles and rice. In the time we were there more than 20,000 packages were filled and packed in boxes for shipping.

The first to arrive were soon busy assembling food packages.

Edie Masters dips into the soy granules.

Mike Emkes sealed the bag and Ray flattened them for the packing box.

Heidi & Mike Ford worked on another assembly line.

Bags are held in place under the funnel and
the four ingredients are added. Following that
someone checks the weight, makes adjustments if necessary,
the bag is sealed and packed in a shipping box.

Gini Stephenson helps with the shipping boxes.
Her sister, Gabi, and Dad, Dave, also helped.

Dave Warren loads boxes on the truck.

We enjoyed visiting with folks from other churches. The youngsters at our assembly line were very good workers. The youngest were 8 and 10. They enjoyed trading job frequently!

Another group from Concordia will be assembling food packs this afternoon. I'm looking forward to participating again in the future.

Snow!

When I glanced out the window sometime between four and five o'clock, we were having a snow shower! Of course, it didn't amount to anything and nothing stuck to the ground. It's just a warning that more will be coming later. I hope it's a lot later.

Last evening I finished reading "A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard. In her memoir, she tells in her own words the story of her abduction and 18 years of captivity. It's not the sort of book that is easy to read but Jaycee does a credible job of describing the environment she lived in following her abduction at age 11. I think of other little girls I know of that age and can't begin to imagine them enduring similar circumstances. Why are we hearing so many stories of sexual misconduct? It really is scary.

Elections are over

The last two days have been busy! Municipal elections were held yesterday. As we have done for a good many years, the women's group at church prepared and delivered meals to polling sites. This year the process seemed easier and more relaxed. Maybe it's because we had a simpler menu and lots of willing workers. On Monday we prepared as much as possible; e.g., we baked cakes for the noon meal and cookies for the evening meal and a few other tasks. We assembled a breakfast meal which our delivery people took home with them and delivered by 7:00 a.m. Yesterday morning we fixed a meatball casserole and finished preparation on the broccoli slaw salad and fruit cup. The crew delivered to eleven sites and then again in late afternoon delivered a box supper consisting of a turkey sandwhich, chips, fruit cup and cookie. We always ask for feedback, so I'm hoping we get lots of positive responses. At next spring's Primary we'll have the opportunity to serve more when the entire township votes (those residing outside the city limits didn't vote this year). I'm glad the campaigns are over. It is a bit tiring to hear all the political ads on TV.

Because I was at church both days I had to take off from my usual routine of visiting the Rec Center. Today I was back but didn't run -- maybe in a few days I'll start up again. I did enjoy the yoga class. Our new Wednesday instructor is very good and provides a varied workout.

This afternoon we renewed our competition at the card table playing bridge with our neighbors. I had only one really great hand but enjoyed the game. It was too windy to be doing anything outdoors. More cold weather is coming our way.

Downfall of a Team

It really is ugly! What a fall! The day was pretty and the roof was open at Lucas Oil Stadium, but the Colts only touchdown came as the result of an interception of a Falcon pass on about the 5 yard line. Powers only had to run five yard to score.

Our day started out bright and sunny. That's because we're back to Standard Time. We even had to use the car visors because the sun was so bright as we headed east.

It's Stewardship Time and the theme of today's sermon was "Bearing Fruit with our Time." The question was posed: How differently would you use your time if you were thinking about the end of your life?

A group of 80-year-olds were asked what would they change about their lives if they could. The consensus was they would:

1. Risk more (using their time boldly)
2. Reflect more (pause, ponder and smell the roses, let your light shine & reflect it)
3. Leave a lasting legacy

On point #3 Alfred Nobel woke up one morning to read his obituary. In the newspaper article he was credited with inventing dynamite that was capable of killing many people. (The newspaper had made a huge error. The man who actually died was his brother.) The article gave Mr. Nobel reason to think about his legacy and he decided to honor scientists, artists, peacemakers and others with a prize that we all know as the Nobel prize.

Let's all take a look at our life as if it were finished.

Race Results

Weeks of preparation paid off today! Ray was a sweetheart and accompanied me downtown for the running of the Monumental Marathon and Half Marathon. They also offered a 5K run and new this year was a Kid's Run. I registered for the Half many months ago (to get the cheapest registration rate).

When we left home the temperature in the car registered a chilly 33 degrees; however, by the time we were downtown it had risen to 36. I think it's always warmer in the city. The nice think about having Ray drive is that I hopped out of the car and was able to hang out in the convention center with other participants until about 10 minutes before the start. Ray then searched for a parking spot and selected a parking garage not far from the finish line. It's hard to find street parking because many of the meters are covered to keep the streets open for all the racers. Also, Indianapolis has new digital parking meters that charge on Saturday with a four hour limit. Before these meters were installed, parking was free on Saturday.

The gun went off at 8:00 a.m. and we were off. Well, not exactly. It took about 5 minutes to reach the start line and most of that time was a slow walk. Fortunately, the race is timed using chips that record when passing over the start, 10K split and finish line.

Ray hung out at the Hyatt for a while. He watched the start of the 5K race and then caught a photo of me as I was approaching mile 13. My calf muscles were aching and I was glad to see the finish approaching.

I'm in the purple vest approaching the nearest orange cone.

Here's another photo where you can probably recognize me.

On West Street nearing the 13 mile marker.

Results: Clock time: 2 hrs 17 minutes; Net time: 2:12:06 for a 10:05 pace. Oh yes, I was first in my age division out of eight.

Each participant received a finisher's medal, a winter cap, and assorted goodies like cookies, bagels, mini sandwich, banana, water, chocolate milk and maybe some other things that I didn't see. We also were given a foil wrap to keep us warm. We stopped in the Results Tent and then in the Recovery Tent where they served hot chili. I picked up my certificate ($25 good at the Blue Mile running store) and a commemorative glass tumbler. Ray took a photo showing me with my finisher's medal and the glass tumbler in my left hand.

Photographer takes a photo of his shadow.
Hope you can see the medal and tumbler.

A small group outside the tent was holding signs promoting a return to the Central Time Zone. The sun wasn't officially up when the race started and their position is that it wouldn't be dark at the beginning of the race or for children getting on school buses if we returned to Central Time.

The sign says it all.
I'm kind of ambivalent about this topic.

Sure felt good to get in a hot shower after the morning's activity. The sunshine prompted Ray to spend sometime outside to work on the black walnuts he harvested a while back.

He's removing the husks from the walnuts.
There are more to clean and then they need to
dry for a month or so before the real shelling begins.

The TV was just tuned to the Oklahoma-Texas A&M game that begins in a few minutes. Hope the Sooners play well today!

Winterizing

Today - 11/1/11 -  was beautiful and this afternoon we finished winterizing our little outdoor pond next to the patio. It's not a real fun job but one that we do every fall. The pond has a collection of leaves in the bottom and even a little frog or two. After the water is drained there's plenty of mud on the bottom to scoop out. We cover it with a piece of plywood and plastic to keep it dry throughout the winter.

I have new wallpaper on my computer. I'm not a designer but put this together using graphic materials I have on hand. It's a little different than some others I've made.

This week is an easy week as far as running is concerned. I'm taking it easy most of the week since I'll be running in a half-marathon on Saturday morning. Right now the weather looks favorable and I hear there might be as many as 10,000 at the starting line. Some will be running a full marathon. I'll do my last run tomorrow -- about 3 miles or maybe 4.