A Year Later at Mom's Home

In March 2020 my H and I visited mom over lunch time and 

at the end of our visit carefully expressed that we may not be able to see her for some time.

Of course, no one had any idea of any real "ifs" and how long!

I can't let my thoughts go on to wonder what she has felt. 

Last week I received a call from her home 

to say that I could sign up for my vaccination to be her essential visitor.

I got vaccinated. 

And more good news ...

I do not need to make an appointment to see her.

So today I simply went and rang the doorbell,

put on the full PPE gear and was escorted up the elevator.

Once in her room I could take off the face shield,

which made it so much nicer.

It's been a long time ...

and all I wanted was to hold her hand,

put my face near hers, speak while looking at her eyes ...

I got it all and more ... 

a look of "how nice to see you!" 

which brought tears to my eyes right off the bat. 

A few "ya" responses, listening to music, praying, reading her Bible and lunch, 

all in the comfort of her neat and tidy room. 

I can't even express how grateful we are for her amazing caregivers.

As I leafed through her Bible I found little notes tucked inside,

notes and underlined verses that tell so much about her.

In this particular note it seemed to me she had jotted down thoughts to share

before singing somewhere.

This is who she was and is, self taught in English writing as an adult and

determined not to let a new language stop her.

Today it's stacks of CDs and a player for caregivers to turn on.

Her way of sharing what's meaningful to her

even while her voice is gone.

❤❤❤

A Year Later

Last year at the end of February

life was busy with packing up our old home and buidling a new one,

 so we decided to connect via a random midweek date with the local grands.

My H and I each picked up one family of kids and

met at A&W for burgers and fries. 

My words at the end of my February 26th post read,

"It brings tears to my eyes 

to realize how quickly these days go by and how

so much about this post will change in no time.

It's a good time to appreciate what's normal today."

To say it again, I had no idea how things would transpire,

this being said before any Covid restrictions.

It was two weeks later when life, as we knew it, changed.

Springtime was awkward, to say the least,

Summer time, better with outdoor visits and

in October we were ever so grateful 

to have the whole family around the Thanksgiving table

before our Indonesia family left. 

After long winter isolation practices, we finally had these eight all together again.

The way it progressed still makes me smile,

as it became evident that no one wanted to miss out. 

We enjoyed hot dogs, chips, veggies and s'mores around the fire pit

and from the littlest to the biggest,

each one was delighted for a the sense of normalcy and being able to be together.

I'll finish this one off with a comment from Jack to his dad,

"We had so much fun, I can't even tell you what we all did!" 

Easy entertainment when it's so appreciated. 

My wish is that you also feel the hope of Spring

and the return to normal visits. 

The message we listened to last Sunday came from Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

which talks about "mourning being better than feasting."

A first look at these verses simply does not make sense,

but in talking about it, we had to admit that hard times 

truly do make us think about what is important,

while happy times can make us forget and take a lot for granted. 

Even a sad face can be good for the heart if it

causes us to order our priorities.

Psalm 90:12 is a prayer to

"Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

💛💛💛

 

Tea Party Across the Ocean

November was the month when Covid restrictions tightened 

so much so that we were not to have anyone in our homes.

It was also the month that our Indonesia family finally got their visas to return

after a hasty departure back in March.

The hard thing in the timing was that we could not have a final family get-together

and, instead of the tea party I had planned for the girls,

I packed up a tin box with a variety of teas, tea cups, 

sugar cubes, cookies and dried flowers from our garden.

In my disappointment, this "tea party in a box"  filled that desire to create something special.

Whereas we had many wonderful memories tucked away,

it was time to pack one up for these best friends who had been separated for some time.

Life overseas filled up quickly with much of the same .... quarantines, family life and school.

We celebrated Christmas the way that many celebrated around the world.

And the day came when the tin box got unpacked, treats were prepared

and the after-school tea and craft party came about

with Grammy as the unseen but very happy guest. 

In a strange way the  tea party may give me an excuse to write,

but in a greater way, 

I have come to see that the opportunities 

and life experiences our grandchildren are having

may outweigh the times they cannot be at our table.

Life may well  be more like many parents would wish for their kids,

simple, with a focus on loving people rather than things.

I can't quite express what I see, 

safe to say that I can't help but take pride in this girl,

the friends she cares about 

and her unselfish attitude in how she lives her life. 

We love you, Makenna!

Blaettertorte Tutorial

Baking a cake for a special occasion will often find me going back to a family favorite that we call Blaettertorte in German. Others know it as Napoleon Torte. As you will see, it consists of layers of large cookies that bake up crisp, but soften once you layer them with a filling, turning the baked layers into more of a cake texture. We layer it with a vanilla custard or homemade chocolate pudding. It's not a very sweet cake, as far as cakes go, a simple delicious softness that could be compared to a cheesecake but  not as rich. Those who want to, drizzle the vanilla torte with raspberry sauce. 

I've shared the recipe on the MGCC blog. You'll find it here Today I'll add a little video clip that may be helpful. 

I shape the pastry into a log and refrigerate it for a couple of hours.

Then I divide it into 12 slices,

so that each slice can be rolled into an 8 inch cookie.

I prepare the layers when I have time and freeze them for when I decide to fill a cake.

This recipe makes 2 layered cakes.

 We all like a homemade vanilla custard, mild and not so sweet.

Once cooled I mix in some whipped cream. 

The cake needs to sit at least 12 hours but just gets better,

the longer it sits. 

I hope this tutorial helps.

It gives me joy when I can inspire someone to successfully try a new recipe. 

February Saturdays

There are some things that I really love about Saturdays.

I love the feeling that it's a free day, even if it includes baking Zwieback -

because it's relaxing and brings back happy memories.

I love that my H is home and we can, for the most part, sleep in

and have breakfast together.

I love that it's the day before Sunday, my favorite day.

Last Saturday I baked sugar cookies,

which were fun to drop off at a couple of places for Valentines.

The Saturday before that, we headed out to Manning Park again

to do some snowshoeing. 

We've been taking turns with the older grandkids and this time

we took Landon and Koen with us.

It was a perfect day out there.

Once I got my phone out of my pocked and mitts off,

I could hardly stop taking pictures.

Snowshoeing with kids is a totally different experience

and it was fun to see that boys can giggle too. 

Koen grinned every time he drew a face in the snow beside us as we went along.

There were many. 

We had our picnic in the snow ... peanut butter and jam or egg salad sandwiches, hot chocolate, cookies and oranges.

Feeling so thankful for the ability and privilege to have fun with our grands,

whether it's childcare, school pick up or outings. 

Not sure yet what next Saturday holds, 

but sometimes no plans bring about the best days. 

That's a peek into life today.

 

Valentines Vignettes

One definition of vignette is 

"a brief incident or scene" ... 

so I'll use that definition as a peek into our marriage.

The food on this platter is a symbol of tradition.

Faspa has been a tradition that has been important for us to keep,

partly due to childhood memories, and maybe more so

because it's relaxing and suits the day of rest.

It's a Sunday afternoon meal consisting of buns, cold cuts,

veggies, chips, salsa, cheese and whatever I can find in the fridge to round it out.

This was a random photo taken one day when we decided to use a large tray

and eat in front of the TV. 

We love to shop together. Yes, he does too!

One of our favorite places to go is downtown Vancouver.

The city atmosphere, the variety of shops

and dinner out is a special treat. 

We also like to go for long walks, either in our neighborhood 

or we drive somewhere to walk. 

This is in Fort Langley.

Last Sunday we found a new to us trail not too far from our house.

There are so many beautiful spots yet to find. 

We hope to get bikes this year to see even more. 

We love to dream and plan together. Before we built this new home,

we were on the lookout for everything from cobble stones to wall decor. 

This may be the reason this random photo was in my files. 

When it comes to work or responsibilities

our marriage works with each of us knowing our place. 

In some ways we are old fashioned but it makes our world go round.

Love and respect.

I iron his shirts, he washes my car.

If he would wish to iron or if I would want to wash the car, we could switch,

but we each prefer our job, no questions asked. 

A nightly habit we have is "coffee and dessert"

while we wind down.

Another nightly habit we began when we got married is

prayer before we go to sleep.

It is very hard to pray together if you are upset at each other,

so it's a good time to make sure everything is alright. 

And this photo caught my eye partly because well ... isn't he handsome! 

It's just one memory of anual spring trips down to California.

Something we can only dream about this year,

but once that privilege returns, we will sure enjoy that again!

Wishing you all a Happy Valentines Day weekend,

appreciating the ordinary small things of life. 

❤❤❤