Christmas 2020

 Hello! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

I thought I’d fill you in on our family life - 2020 has been a different kind of year, but blessings abound.

#1 and Yellow Rose are still in Texas, but at the moment #1 is away doing whatever the Army tells him to do. Yellow Rose and the dog, Abby, miss him, but are handling things just fine. They came for a visit this fall (before #1’s departure) and we had a wonderful time with them. Yellow Rose keeps busy managing two Orange Theory studios and taking online graduate classes. I honestly don’t know how she does it all, but she does it with grace and a smile. We miss them terribly, and look forward to #1’s return and some time with them afterwards. 

LLB is still stationed here, in DC. She is working hard, completed her Masters in Mechanical Engineering this fall, just finished overseeing both of her bathroom’s renovations, and continues to rock climb in her local rock climbing gym. She keeps busy! She is hoping to be able to ski a bit this year - we shall see what the weather brings and if the ski areas open. 

This spring, when the world shut down, Mr and I decided that we had a lot of chores that needed doing and got to it. We cleaned out barns, closets, attics, and garages. We took copious trips to the dump - it got to be that they knew the car and just waved us through. We cut and split firewood (I do love that wood splitter!), we spent time, we laughed, and basically enjoyed each other’s company. We spent the summer by the pool - he working and me reading or crocheting. 

My life slowed down for a bit until I thought it would be a good idea to participate in a Pop-Up Market sponsored by our church. I spent a few crazy weeks this fall making mittens, table runners, masks, and more. My handbell choirs have combined and shrunk to field one very good combined choir. I look forward to the churches opening up and getting back to ringing - maybe next fall??

Mr is still working at MITRE as a software engineer. He shifted his hours and goes in for the afternoon after working at home in the morning. I guess he never got the memo that senior citizens should not write code! H thoroughly enjoys the fast-paced environment and competing with millennials less than half his age. His time off the laptop is spent playing handbells in my choir and taming Mother Nature on our ten acres with his chainsaw, mower, and a wide assortment of lawn tools. 

If you’re ever in VA or passing through, shoot us an email. We’d love to see you! 

Merry Christmas! 

So many blessings!

LLB is home! I’ve finished playing at the 1pm, and listening at the 4pm. They were both lovely services! Everyone is asleep... the last load of dishes has been unloaded and put away. The breakfast casserole is cooking and the dishes have been laid out. It’s the calm before the wonderful chaos that is Christmas! I have turned off the lights, kissed my cat, and crawled into bed. 

My soldier is healthy and safe,  and his wife is with her family. 

Life is so very very good and we are so blessed. 

Merry Christmas Eve! 

Practice makes....

 I’ve been practicing my bell tree music for Christmas Eve. I’ve got 2 out of 3 pieces memorized. Sometimes I struggle and sometimes it just comes naturally. I’ll have the music with me just in case my nerves try to get the best of me. 

Needless to say, I’ll get there.

Ding dong ding...

Cruising into Christmas

 Wow! Time sure does fly. I can’t tell you have many times I thought to myself, “I should do a blog post”... and yet... here we are... mid-December! 

We had a busy fall. We got the bells out and fielded a combined choir - that was really fun! We played for a virtual service last week and it was fantastic! The church decided to try to have a pop-up market, so I thought I’d try to scramble and put a booth together. I did pretty well. I made the money back that it cost me to make everything, so I have no complaints! I made some table runners, mittens, masks, and hand lotion. Would I do it again? Ummm... maybe if it were closer to Christmas.

The tree is up. The presents have been ordered. Anything that’s here had been wrapped. Some gifts are in transit... let’s hope they get here... I ordered a bunch of special things before Thanksgiving... and here we are... still waiting. It is what it is. If they come, great... if not, I’ll wrap a picture. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. 

I wrote a Christmas letter this year. I’ll post it separately - because it gives me a quick and easy blog post! Hey - it’s called “Using Your Resources”! 🤣🤣

Today is the first snow of the season. Mr is upstairs working and Mini is here being a bother. She is wondering when I’m going to break down and give her some treats. (DYI: not happening. She is on a diet and so am I... no treats for anyone!). I’m currently sitting by the fire, enjoying a cup of tea, watching Tv, and typing away. Actually, I’m supposed to be practicing bell tree music for Christmas Eve. Instead, I’m procrastinating. In my defense, I’ve got most of it down, and I’m in the process of memorizing it. Since masks are currently required and my glasses often fog when I breathe, I need to KNOW the music just in case I can’t see it. “Covid problems!” 

LLB is is off skiing with friends this week. It’s so good to see her enjoying herself. She works hard, is very dedicated and responsible, and definitely deserves to play! I look forward to having her home for Christmas and hearing stories of her adventure. This fall she had both of her bathrooms remodeled. It became obvious that they just needed updating... so she bit the bullet and spent the money. They are updated, gorgeous, and fully functioning! All that’s left to update is the kitchen, and she will get to that after she saves up. 

#1 is deployed. He is handling it well but is currently back in quarantine because 2 people who work near him tested positive for the dreaded Covid.  He’s calling it Christmas in Quarantine 2020. I’m really glad I sent him a wee tree and a good book for Christmas! He was looking forward to the Christmas Eve services in camp, but will see them virtually instead. (He might even tune in to see our service and  me play if I remind him!) Yellow Rose is home with the dog keeping things running and doing it well. She is managing two studios and taking graduate classes. She is a go getter for sure!  We would have loved to have her here for Christmas, but she is spending it with her family - we completely understand, but we miss her anyway. Maybe we can have both of them here next year! 

So, I guess I’ve caught you up on life here at The Crossing. Life is good. We are so blessed!