DC: the move

Jim and i flew Southwest (for the first time) in March to our favorite airport .... BWI... to visit Leah & Julian and help them move from their apt. in Arlington to their NEW HOUSE (duplex) in Alexandria.
After dropping off Benny at the Countryside kennel, we drove to Columbus and met Bryan on his lunch hour so he could take us to the airport (leaving our car at his place).  This arrangement worked out really well.

We arrived at BWI right on time. Since jim was wearing his orthopedic boot (surgery the day after we get home!) i asked for a wheelchair to meet us at the gate at BWI.  This worked really well as we were allowed to board with the other 'handicapped' people, thus securing a seat towards the front of the plane. Southwest doesn't have reserved/assigned seating: it's on a first-come basis.


Since Jim was wheeled to the baggage area,  we got there in record time! I had packed in a large backpack to keep my hands free.  It was quite heavy!  We had to wait about 10 mins. outside for the shuttle to the Amtrak depot (about a mile away) to catch the MARC train to Union Station. We waited about 1/2 hour for the train and enjoyed the ride. 

Leah met us a Union Station (in her famous green coat) and guided us further thru the metro maze to the Pentagon City stop where Julian met us with the car for the final ride to the apartment. 

We packed and moved things a little at a time.  Leah hadn't got any boxes for the move so many things were stacked up on the dolly or put into garbage bags for transport. We were really tired at the end of a couple days of this. 

HAD to put my feet up for a few mins...

Leah's famous for getting us all to pose...

We moved a lot of things Friday night and took some time off Saturday afternoon to go to a kite festival at the Washington Monument. It was a sunny but brisk day.  We stopped at Chipotle on the way to pick up some lunch to eat when we got down there, which worked out really well!
The kite display was very colorful and cool!  Jim was on crutches and didn't move from our picnic spot much. I walked around the festival grounds and took some pics of the sights. 

Before leaving we decided to go across the street to the WWII Memorial to try to find the kiosk that listed the veteran's names.  

Jim wanted to look up dad and uncle Leno.  We looked all around the memorial but found nothing.  I even called Tia in AZ  to ask where they had found it. Just as i was talking with her, they found the computer screens on the outside of a small building to the left of the area. 

L-n-J walked back to the car -- and got stuck in some construction --- we sat on a cold bench near the bus pick up circle and waited for them. The wind was quite cold! 

We only saw a few of the cherry blossoms from a distance as we were leaving. They were in FULL bloom a few days later...

On our way home we passed the Iwojima memorial and decided to stop for a minute just before dusk...

Palm Sunday we went to the theatre church and were happily surprised to find that pastor Mark was speaking live at their location that day!  It was a wonderful service. After it was over leah insisted that i go to the 'new people' circle to get the 'welcome pack' which included a book written by pastor Mark.... so i did.  ;)

On Sunday night (5pm) Jim and i drove in the kid's car over to Bowie to visit Carol and Bob Jones. Their daughter Angela was there with her husband jim, and their two boys.  Carol had fixed a lovely supper of macaroni and cheese, ham, potatoes, and asparagus with a wonderful salad!  We had a nice visit.... 

  It was raining when we left, and of course, dark!  The kids' GPS took us on a nice direct route on the way there, but for some reason chose another much more convoluted route to get us home!  We ran into construction which wasn't reflected in the GPS directions and made many turn-arounds!  It was quite frustrating... we were glad to get back to their place finally!  

Monday Leah & Julian went to work & we stayed home and 'straightened things' a bit. ;-)
I put the chicken in the oven and we had a nice meal that night to celebrate all our hard work.

Tea Time

My daughter, leah, (the world traveler) brought back some fancy tea from Denmark (?) a while back.  I finally got around to opening the pretty package and discovered another beautiful surprise inside the teacup!

  As the funny little tea packet was steeping in the cup of hot water it gradually began to expand.... opening into a beautiful flower shape!  The tea was jasmine and a bit too strong for me, but the flower was so artful that i had to snap a pic of it!

Well, i just went to the website on the tea tag (dreamawaytea.com) and i see that this tea was meant to be steeped in a POT of water, not a mug.  Oh well, it was still a nice surprise!  :-) 

Spring!

Spring came to our world at 1:32pm today. We had another spectacularly warm (66*) and sunny day!  We went for a walk at Tawawa park with Benny - not too far or fast since Jim's ankle is still mending from the achilles tear. We expect  to get the MRI results this week so they know how to continue treatment. 

On the way home from the park we drove thru 'Chilly Jilly's' (local ice cream place) for the first cone of the season!

I decided it was time for a bon fire tonight.  I've had a pile of twigs and small branches set up for a fire and tarped all winter... looks like a rodent found it to be a nice little hut!  Waited until dusk to start the fire, but it was still a little breezy, so i didn't get all of the brush burned - but it felt good to get rid of at least one pile!

I also got some more leaves shredded (from last Fall) and placed in the flower beds, transferred a few Lady's Slipper flower plants and generally got the gardens straightened.  My hands are not happy tonight.  Ibuprofen is calling to me and then: to bed, to bed, to bed she said! 

Signs of Spring

We've had some rather warm days in the past week for this early in March, although  you wouldn't know it today.  It was 45 degrees, cloudy and damp. At least it didn't rain all day like yesterday.

Last week i was walking with Benny in our subdivision at dusk and noticed the first bat of the season!  I love to watch them as they swoop and soar looking for yummy bugs to devour; i'm sure the bug buffet was a little slim this evening, but that bat was determined to get whatever might be out there! The cul-de-sac near our corner is a prime location for viewing them since it's lined with taller trees.  In the summer i like to ride my bike back and forth as the bats fly overhead... it's exciting when they get close!

The warmer weather also brings out the prowling cats in the neighborhood. Our next door neighbor has a yellow striped cat named Screech. He's from Italy (really!) and is quite bold.  He was sitting in our side yard one evening so i walked in his direction with our dog on the leash thinking we would chase him back to his yard, but he stood his ground and showed no sign of retreat until i waved my foot in his direction.  Don't get me wrong, i love all cats, but with Taz turning 15 this year i want to keep him away from the younger cats who might like to pick a fight with him.   He currently has a very ugly infection in his right eye due to a cat scrap back in November.  He will likely lose the eye. I'll be taking him back to the vet this week.

Another sign of Spring are the flower bulbs pushing up lovely green stems all around our yard. We have prolific daffodils, as well as tulips and hyacinth. The crocus are already blooming when the sun shines!

The past week was a beautiful preview of warmer days ahead; we only have one week to go until the 'official' start of Spring. This is, however, Ohio, and we will undoubtedly have some nasty precipitation before the glorious sun warms our sod once again.

Wicked was Wonderful!!!

One week ago today - March 2nd - we went to the Schuster Center in Dayton for the 8pm show of "Wicked"  !!!   The lead of "Elphaba" was played by  actress Marcie Dodd who also played this role in the Broadway company of Wicked...awesome!  This is her second national tour.  

In case you don't know, the show is sort of the back story to the Wizard of Oz... plus some!  The sub-title is 'The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.'   This is the official blurb:   "Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch."   

AND:
"The show is a buoyantly creative version of what happens to Elphaba, the supposedly 'wicked' witch and Glinda, the reputedly good witch during the college years. Their buddy story is only one of several storylines and subplots in a carefully constructed, surprise-filled musical adventure."
ALSO:
"Broadway's Wicked musical is based on Gregory Maguire's novel, Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which turned every Oz myth inside out. Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, who adapted Maguire's book, often speak of the genius idea that Gregory had to look at the classic villain of Western culture: the Wicked Witch of The West, and considered writing her life story in a sympathetic way. Both the novel and musical assume that instead of her being Wicked, she is actually labeled "Wicked" by the culture around her while she is actually trying to accomplish something good."

OK - enough of blog-blurbing!  *LOL*!

I adored the show (jim liked it too) from the music to the costumes and dancing and the fast-paced witty dialogue! It was very funny sometimes poignant and I would see it again any day!

 *this shot is from the dorm scene - very cute!*

(photo from WHIO.com's Backstage Dayton blog!)

We were 'strictly prohibited' from using any  photographic devices during the show, so  i took a couple pics of the curtain which had the map of Oz on it  and the theater's interesting ceiling. We were seated in the Loge area - a balcony between the upper and lower balconies... not too bad... glad i took the monocular though!

*this is not a very good picture of the awesome dragon above the stage... it lit up, moved and belched smoke at the beginning of the show!*  
for a better shot of this go to:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/isewcute/4392912330/

**the theater's ceiling detail was very interesting... a stair-step design that ends with 'stars' floating above**
    it's as if looking through a porthole into the milky way....

GLO - Bible

This cartoon reminds me of a new interactive Bible program that our pastor was 'sharing' with us about a month ago... it's called GLO and is very tech-friendly.  Published by Zondervan (in Michigan!) this technical miracle "brings God's word to life through HD video, photographs, maps, 360-degree virtual tours, and a unique zoomable interface for fast easy visual navigation on PC computers."   Hmmm ... no MAC version?  i have it on good authority that a new version is forthcoming for the mac-users among us...

I just don't know ... a virtual Bible... i think i want the 'hard copy' in my hand to highlight and underline and make notes in the margins!  When i first saw this being featured on the big screen at church, i thought it seemed way too slick and a little scary.... the way the logo was spinning, enticing, just seemed wrong somehow.  I've since reconsidered and think this may have a calling for getting those tied to anything video to know more about God's Word. After all,this does have the benefit of having LOTs of info condensed into a very small package... i think it could be a very useful tool, but, for me, it will never replace the written page or the comfort of holding God's Word in bound form.

This Lenten Season

Any of my Facebook friends reading this may have noticed (if you missed my note) that i've been absent from the FB scene for over a week now. That's because i decided to 'give it up' for Lent this year. On Feb. 16 i posted a note on FB about Lent and why i felt the need for a 'time out' from our beloved FB.  

You see, for me, FB had become a real time robber. I had become obsessed with checking in to see all my friends' latest statuses.... what if i missed something important?!?  Like whose driveway was snowed in, or how productive my friend had been at housework that day...  hmmm... not really life altering information. So, urged by the Spirit, i reasoned that my time could be better spent putting my own spiritual and earthly 'houses' in order. 

To that end, i've been spending more time reading and pondering God's word. Last week as i prepared some food to take to the local 'soup kitchen' on Friday, i listened to a podcast of a favorite pastor from Leah's former church in Athens. The message was delivered on Sunday the 21st, which was the first Sunday in Lent. He gave a brief explanation of Lent and the various disciplines observed.  

A quick summary of what he said follows: 
 
The 40 day season of Lent has been traditionally observed in three ways by the Christian church
1. prayer & reflection on scripture
2. giving of alms - especially to the poor among us
3. fasting or some other form of personal sacrifice or denial


Sundays are 'feast days' and so are not included in the 40 days of Lent.

Question:  Does God still speak?
Answer:  well, yes.


BUT - many of us are too distracted by worldly things; We are not tuned in to hear His voice; we are simply not listening.   
In order to hear God, we need to know what his voice sounds like; we also need to be able to discern the content of what is being said... does this 'sound' like something God would say...


Focus is key - getting rid of things that distract... like (for me) facebook.
Listening for God's voice & recognizing it is next
Finally, the two way communication of prayer involves not just my 'list' of requests but a time of silence to hear what God may want to tell ME!  
It's easy to spell it out.... not so easy to 'be still' for me!


Pastor Paul had a good idea to keep me focused and listening for God's voice.... Whatever i have used for Lent as my 'denial' (ie: no FB) - whenever that denial thing comes to mind that's the cue or trigger to turn my attention to God - to be wholly available to Him!  i like it!
The whole idea of giving something up for Lent is to create more space in my sloppy world for God-stuff... to be able to know Him more.   I think this message was just what i needed to hear.

Sisu!

Just in case i haven't mentioned it before i'm of Finnish descent. Well -- around 1/4 of me is anyway... the rest is German and English. My maiden name is Jarvie which comes from the Finnish name Jarvinen... i still use Jarvi (without the 'e') as my middle name. Because my mom is an only child and my dad is one of five children, we tended to be more connected with the Jarvie side of the family... thus the Finnish-American culture which included Sauna and SISU! 

Finns are very proud of - well, just being Finns!  Part of that pride is the natural-born characteristic of sisu.   I asked some Uncles & cousins on Facebook what the word sisu meant to them and here's some of what they said:
 Uncle Henry - "guts and intestinal fortitude"  
 Great Aunt Punk used to say it was just "plain guts!"
 Uncle Robert - "determination"  also he recalls a definition that said, 
   'lighthearted courage in the face of opposition that you have little chance of overcoming.'  
Kind of makes you go, hmmmmmm,  eh? 


By the way, did i mention that i've given up Facebook for Lent?  It's become far too addictive for me, so i figured this was a good time to give it a rest.... but that's another story!
   

A Full Heart

Last Sunday was Valentine's Day: Psalm 150 Sunday at our church.  Every musician in the congregation was invited and encouraged to join the music team for that day to lead worship. I was there on guitar. It was our second year of celebrating in this way - only one service for the special occasion. It was great!

Since i had to be there at 8:30 for rehearsal (and jim didn't) i went ahead and jim came later with Benny. This is totally opposite to our normal schedule when he is the one who has to be there early for music rehearsal!  I know he enjoyed seeing me go out the door before him!

After the service we set off south to Middletown and the Pretorius' church for James' 20th birthday celebration. We met in their Youth building basement... a nice mix of cafe and game room with large windows looking out to the basketball hoops!  

Diana had a taco salad bar set up and others brought goodies to add for lunch. We went in with Art and Louise Fabian who arrived just after Benny's walk. After eating we were obliged to play games - "old people" vs. "young people!"  Since James was the 20-year-old it was decided that he was the dividing age and everyone 20 and up was "old!"  

The first game was a coin toss to the pool table pockets. The 'big' game was Pictionary which was a tie - the tie-breaker went to the 'young folks' 

Thommy and Emily line up for the coin toss while Uncle Art looks on...

  

 Having a good time as Grandma MaryCarol takes her turn at Pictionary!

It was great to get to see James and the family again... glad we went!  On the way back north we called Mom and decided to make a stop at Addison Ave. for a few hours.  Our first job was to shovel out the driveway and back stairs.  That snow was heavy and packed!  A cup of tea and good conversation were welcome valentines! 

We got back on the road to home around 5:30... before dark. Yay! 


Stopped at church so Jim could pick up his car which was left in the lot.... i decided to go in and get my guitar which i had left there from the morning, so jim got a head start on me.  As i was approaching Fulton Road (less than a mile from home) a deer crossed 25A in front of me and landed in the corn field.  On a whim i decided to turn west on Fulton to get a picture... nice!

As i drove a little further down the road i realized this deer was trying to catch up to the herd.... around a dozen deer all together.  I got a few shots but they were too far away for my camera to do justice...

 

I like this one because of the old homestead house floating in the background... wish the deer were more in focus...

 

Benny was so excited and jumping around the car the whole time i was trying to get these pics...he would have liked to chase the deer through the woods! 

Seeing all these deer in one place was my valentine from God... i stayed on the road watching them from the car for many minutes... in fact the Sheriff stopped by to make sure i was "OK" !   A nice way to end the day!

weighty issues

Weighed in at the doctor's today... shocking how those digital scales can be so OFF!  This is the most i've ever weighed outside of pregnancies... i really need to move more and cut out the chocolate!.... Ahhh but Valentine's Day is just around the corner... then again, jim said i may have to get my own gift this year since his foot (achilles) is still injured and he can't hobble to the store yet!
So maybe i'll get myself some yummy lite yogurt or something...

I started following a semi gluten-free diet a few weeks ago. Have found one muffin recipe that is not too bad.  This is an attempt to see if the lack of gluten will help my digestion...  I haven't noticed a huge difference yet, but as i said, its a SEMI gluten free thing so far, so maybe that needs to change?   Time will tell.

Supper tonight was red sauce with meatballs & veggies over rice noodles - "Maifun" -- quite acceptable, if different!

Winter Snow 2010

Ohio has had a much snowier and colder winter than usual this year. This suits me fine ... i love the snow on the trees... except for all the shoveling involved! Being from Michigan i have no problem driving in snow as some do around here. It's always amused me how panicky people in this area get at the thought of a 3 inch snowfall. I've been a little 'snap happy' with the camera - wanting to capture all the loveliness of this snowy season... i'll try to choose just the best shots to post here!

Lovely Lacey Branches covered with ice and frost in early January













Neighborhood creek under snow - Feb 7th

 

Our sleepy Shed and pines - side yard

West yard - Feb.6

 

Spring bloom in the lacey snow-covered kitchen window 

Paperwhites in the kitchen bay window with a snowy backdrop and some feeding birds

  

After the storm passed we had a brilliant blue sky on Saturday - Feb. 6th

14 Instant Appetizers | Eat This, Not That

14 Instant Appetizers | Eat This, Not That

2009: the second half

The second half of 2009 was a bit more rocky.... but first the GOOD news!
Our niece, Corrie, (and Chris) gave birth to Owen Thomas on 6.1.09. He was 8 lbs 14 oz. Such a BIG boy... since she's nursing him, he's still a big boy (at six months); we call him the BFB (big fat baby)!!!

We got to meet him for the first time on Father's Day at Mom & Dad's. Such a nice surprise!















On the 25th Ej took Dad (& Mom) to the VA hospital for an overdue checkup as dad's leg had been swollen and very sore. They admitted him. That day started a roller coaster ride of doctors and diagnosis, hospitals, and care centers that would not end for two months.

That was also the day that we heard of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcet's deaths. so sad.

The following Saturday we bought a stairlift from 'Jeff' in Kettering. A God-send!
Chris helped Jim install it in Mom's basement stairs the next week.

In July my "library career" came to an end when i was one of the 30% let go due to the State Funding Cuts. My last day was the 25th... the summer reading Carnival. It's been bitter-sweet. I've enjoyed my time off -- especially the weekends, but i do miss the people.

My Aunts (finally!) organized another Jarvie family reunion, so we were on our way north to da U.P. the weekend August 1st. We met at cousin Annette's (& Roger) beach house.

Even though it was a rainy day, we had a great time visiting and God even provided some afternoon sunshine for a walk on the beach.















I was just re-reading my journal. From June to August Dad Gene was in and out of various medical facilities 5 times. After the pancreatic cancer diagnosis August 4th he was moved to Hospice of Dayton. Many family and friends visited him there and we cannot say enough about the caring staff... they were great! Gene went 'walking with Jesus' on the evening of August 16th (2 days before his 89th birthday) while the family was getting some supper in the cafeteria. He chose that private quiet moment to leave us.
Gene taught us much about the value of hard work and how to have a good laugh! We miss him a lot but know he's in a much better place now.

*Gene served in the Coast Guard during WWII in the Pacific*

*A proud employee of NCR for many years*

*There's that famous grin! ('07)*

The day after the funeral (Friday 8.21) Jim and i were on our way to Athens Ohio to prepare for Leah and Julian's 'marriage celebration.' Talk about an emotional week!

We stayed with Tom and Anne Walker who are second parents to Julian since he stayed with them all through his college career at OU. They are excellent hosts!

Friday and Saturday were a whirlwind of activity as is typical for any wedding. Leah and Julian had a lovely bilingual church ceremony at OU's Galbreath Chapel to celebrate their marriage. They each wrote personal vows which they spoke in both Spanish and English. Julian said it was much harder in Spanish!

*the Happy Couple!*

*Dancing to 'Sway With Me'*

*Reception Hug*

September brought another bouncing baby into the Overholt family as our niece Melanie (& Ben) gave birth to their first child, Avery Elizabeth, on the 18th. We got to meet her at Christmas when the Virginia Overholt's traveled to dayton for a visit!


Three days after the 'wedding' Jim and Bryan left for a back-
pack trip to the Grand Tetons with friends from Sidney.
It was rugged terrain, but they had a great time enjoying
God's creation, as usual. It was God's perfect timing for healing and reflection on the trail.




I took part of the week they were gone for a visit to Michigan with Benny!
Here we are at the Ludington State Park at my favorite stop on the Island Trail.  In October, Jim and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary with a long weekend trip to Gatlinburg TN. It was my first time to the area! We stayed at a small cabin up a winding road and enjoyed the shopping and trails in the area.  The first part of our 2 mile mountain trail was a slow grade up and beside a beautiful stream! As the grade steepened and grew rougher, i kept shedding layers!

The last part was slow, but i made it to the cave destination!  Jim went ahead of me the last little bit... The end of the year was full of family gatherings... Thanksgiving was at our house this year; 15 people enjoyed lots of food and good fun! We had all four kids home for Christmas... first Leah & Julian for Christmas Eve service at Grace

Then Bryan & Laney for Christmas day at home and with the extended family in Dayton. Leah & Julian woke us up Christmas morning at our door, wondering why we weren't out of bed yet...  it was because the power had been out since 6:30am and we saw no reason to get up yet!  BUT up we got, and jim got the propane heater & 'stove' from our camping supplies;  then about 15 minutes later the power was back on at 8:30, just in time for B & Laney's arrival!   L&J made us a traditional Colombian breakfast of Bun~elos and hot chocolate with cinnamon!  Yum- we were stuffed!

All four stayed the night at home, then B&Ln had to get back to Columbus for work.  Leah & Julian were able to stay a couple more days until Tues. 

The Virginia Overholts traveled to Dayton for a visit on Sunday, so we all met in Mom's church basement for a party Monday night.  Good times... a nice way to end the year!

First cousins with partners & kids!

(missing Terry, Bryan & Nick)