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Part of this post was dropped so I'll fill you in.  As you get to the bottom of a page, you'll see "Older Posts".  If you click on that, it will    take you backwards in reverse order. 

OR....
 

Christmas at Krista's in 2024

We had a wonderful, low-key, and relaxed day at the home of my bonus daughter, Krista Lee Suter.  Do you know what a bonus daughter is?  I married Gary and got a bonus - I got a daughter in the deal!

Their custom is to have pancakes and eggs, open gifts, and start a jigsaw puzzle.  So that is just what we did!  Krista has become quite the cook and had giant pancakes, fried eggs, bacon, cider, and juice.

 

 Next, it was gift time.........

 

...... sooo many nice, thoughtful, and a few funny gifts. 

We took our time opening presents......  with entertainment from Levi and Lucas, my bonus grandcats. 

Then, out came the 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and the TV came on for a football game of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers - the Chiefs won. They managed to do two things at once with no trouble.

 I am a self-appointed sorter - I get all the pieces sorted by color. 
Krista has this wonderful puzzle board with 4 drawers underneath.

 

Then, I relaxed and nursed my new knee

 

I had a knee replacement on October 16th and am still having physical therapy.

We did stop for a charcuterie board supper.

 

 

 

 

Busy, busy bees!

 

 

 

Then, by George, they finished the puzzle - all 500 pieces!

Here's my favorite part of the day: 

Krista bought a tunnel to go around under her Christmas tree.  She thought it would help keep the kitties from playing under there, plus, give them some entertainment. 

Of course, kitties need entertainment, right?

 

Sure enough, Lucas did not disappoint -- he went in the tunnel and came out the other side. 

You can tell he was so proud of himself!

 

Merry Christmas 2024 to all and to all a good night.

Dinner with the Mays in Their Lovely Log Home

It is becoming a tradition for Gary, me, and Krista Suter, Cousins Bill and Becky May and Cousins Chris and Kelly May Greene to join my brother and sister-in-law, Phil and Maribeth May in their lovely log home for a Christmas dinner.

Maribeth first serves some tasty appetisers.  Then she makes a fantastic beef tenderloin and serves it with her famous twice-baked potatoes.  Becky brought her famous green beans.  I brought a coconut cream pie and an apple tart (which was a work of art from VMRC, the retirement community where Gary and I live.)

There was a crust under the tart but this is all thinly sliced apples with a glaze.

It's always a treat to see Maribeth's decorations which are added to her lovely home for each season.

Becky May is always warm and friendly. 

Dining room view 1

Dining Room - view 2

The living room from the kitchen.

Most of the guests were watching James Madison University vs University of Western Kentucky in their first bowl game.  We won!  The final score was 27-17.

This is the view of the living room as you come in the front door.

The Lovely Log Home of Phil and Maribeth May

 

p.s. Next year I'll take a few more photos.  It is my intention to start blogging again.

Gary's Gear for Football Games

 

My husband, Gary, and my bonus-daughter, Krista, are loyal James Madison University football fans.  The fall temperatures here and in other places they go to watch games can have very, very cold weather.

It is quite a show to watch Gary get ready or to watch him remove layers after a game.  This was after the JMU vs Marshall University game that went into overtime.  (We lost - Marshall 35 vs JMU 33.) He didn't get home till midnight.

Here's the fully dressed version.  Layer 1
I have a double-fleeced stocking cap on my head and
a black fleece windbreaker over my face. 
My red scarf is one I got in Moscow (can't find my JMU one). 

My black gloves are battery-powered and stays warm for 8 hours.

I am holding my hot seat cushion, which I sit on.  It is filled with starofoam and keeps me warm from the cold, plastic chairs of the stadium. 

 

Layer 2  Notice the large, magenta polar-level down-filled thick coat over my arm.

Layer 3  This is under the fleece stocking cap that protects my face from the wind. 

 

 

 

 

Layer 4 is my battery-powered heated black vest.

 

Layer 5 features the JMU fleece sweatshirt.

Layer 6 is flannel-lined Docker pants.

  

Layer 7 is thermal underwear black tights.

 Layer 8 is heat-holder socks.

 

Layer 9 is insulated boots with toe warmers.  You shake them and they stay warm for 6 hours.

Such is the life of a dedicated and loyal
JMU football fan, Gary Lee Suter!

Gary says, "Thanks to my faithful cohorts, Winston Weaver and Krista Lee Suter, who join me each Saturday during football season."

p.s. Last year one game in Harrisonburg was 17 degrees during the whole game. We stayed till the final minute!

Thanksgiving Eve Buffet at VMRC

Gary and I live at VMRC (Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. 

We had the pleasure of inviting some family and some "almost family" to our Thanksgiving Eve luncheon.
 

The version with the labels below is for posterity. 
It's frustrating to me to find old photos of unidentified people.

(Click on any pic for a larger view.)

Guns into Plowshares Sculpture

'Guns Into Plowshares’ returns to Washington
after 7 years in Virginia

2024  This sculpture is a  16-foot tall steel plow and has more than 3,000 handguns welded into the sculptural form. 

It is called Guns into Plowshares and was created by Esther Augsburger, an artist. 

The photo to the left is Gary Suter.  Gary's brother, Everett, helped Esther with creating the huge plowshare form and with welding the guns to the plowshare.  

 

 You can see some of the guns welded to the sculpture.
The guns were turned into the police department as part of a voluntary surrender program, and holes were torched into the guns' firing mechanisms so they could not be reused. "

2024 Esther now lives in VMRC
(Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community)

Esther's husband is Myron Augsburger who was the president of EMU from 1965 - 1980.

***************************************************************

Here are other reports about this magnificent statue:

The "Guns Into Plowshares" sculpture, dedicated Oct. 10, will be at Eastern Mennonite University for two to three years before returning to its original exhibition site in Judiciary Square outside the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

The sculpture contains several thousand handguns, including 10 from the Harrisonburg Police Department. Esther Augsburger, wife of President Emeritus Myron Augsburger, and son Michael created the sculpture in the late '90s. 

"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."  Isaiah 2:4

Esther's was born in India, where her parents were missionaries. The mixture of American and Indian cultures is evident in Augsburger's work.

The process was slow since Augsburger took home boxes of guns at a time, and she had to obtain permission to place the sculpture from nine federal and city commissions. Augsburger says that the sculpture's message is peace. "When we lay down our weapons, then we can have peace," she says. 

Here's a clip from the TV station WHSV here is Harrisonburg, Virginia in 2024 about moving the statue from EMU (Eastern Mennonite University) back to Washington, DC.

https://www.whsv.com/2024/10/22/statue-dedicated-gun-violence-awareness-leaves-emus-campus/  

Topsy Turvy Toilet Paper

 Warning: This is silliness......

Did you ever have one of THOSE days?  Well I had one yesterday.......  

I had a fresh roll of toilet paper on the counter, ready to install. it onto the toilet paper holder.  

All of a sudden it just seemed to jump right into the toilet!!  On the bright side, the water was clean. 

What did I do?  Considering the rumors that toilet paper was going to be scarce, I did what a girl's gotta do.   I plucked it out of the water and it started to break into pieces where the water area was.

Carefully, I took it off section by section and hung the pieces over the all the towels, towel rods and shower door to dry. 

I spread it out to dry all over the bathroom.

Here are the pieces, dry and orderly - right in front of the toilet.  It will be interesting to see how long it will take to use it

Note to self: 
Do not get out a clean roll until it's ready to install immediately.

Knotting Bee August 2024

What's a knotting bee?  It's like a quilting bee so, since I don't know the name of the gathering, I'm calling it a Knotting Bee.

For 2 days ladies from various churches and organizations met at the Village Hall, which is part of *VMRC.  There were lots of comforters ready for us and boy did we ever knot!

(Click on any pic for an enlargement) 

 This was a 2 day event so there were more ladies who came besides this good group.

 

Rita, Betty, Arlene, and MaryMay

Deb, Mary, and Arlene.  We are used to working on a stretched comforter so working on tables was a challenge.  We almost had to lie down for some of them!

The variety of designs and glorious colors never cease to amaze me!

We also learned a new approach - instead of knotting on the corners, we knotted in the middle, which made it easier.  No need to fight through those seams at the corners.

 Mary Smith and Eleanor Heishma

Deb Layman, one of our leaders.

This one is very unusual.

More designs

Another pretty design.

Tom Matheny sets up our comforters on a stretcher where we work in our VMRC craft room weekly.   Tom also sews, fixes machines and accomplishes many other projects.  If he doesn't know how to do something, he invents a way that works.

 

Yes, men do this too! 

 

32 comforters completed in two days is an accomplishment! 

They will be sent to relief agencies, especially Mennonite centers, to be distributed.  Some of these will be sent to Ukraine.  

 

*VMRC = Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community
where Gary and I live in Harrisonburg, VA. 

 

You couldn't be in a place like this and not want to knot!