Christmas – Page 5 – Valerie's Voice

Christmas Tea

The meditation below came through on my email a couple of weeks ago. It pairs well with a Christmas cup of tea. (used with permission).

You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.
Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.
Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.
If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of tea.
You will look down at the cup, and the tea will be gone.
Life is like that.
If you are not fully present, you will look around and it will be gone.
You will have missed the feel, the aroma, the delicacy and beauty of life.
It will seem to be speeding past you. The past is finished.
Learn from it and let it go.
The future is not even here yet. Plan for it, but do not waste your time worrying about it.
Worrying is worthless.
When you stop ruminating about what has already happened, when you stop worrying about what might never happen, then you will be in the present moment.
Then you will begin to experience joy in life.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Winter Walk

The first Thursday evening in December the city of Northfield blocks off Division Street (our main street) to traffic and puts out luminaries, brings in horses and sleighs for rides, has carolers singing, hosts Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus and the stores offer yummy treats and cider. It’s very festive and very popular – even with folks from the cities who come down to enjoy the special event. This year was Northfield’s 19^th Winter Walk.

It was a bit cold this year which seemed to keep the crowds to a manageable size (for me anyways) and there was a touch of snow on the ground which added some extra Christmas spirit.

Outside the Antiques of Northfield store.

Each year we enjoy walking around and make a few regular stops to certain places we like, including the Downtown Bicycles shop where I put my name in a drawing.

The library always hosts the Model Train Club and hobbyists set up their old model trains for a fun exhibit.

Stores along Division Street decorate their storefront windows with holiday displays so its fun to window shop too.

I wear a Santa hat to the winter walk every year. At the first Winter Walk, in 1999, I bought my Santa hat from Jacobsen’s Department Store and I have worn it to the Winter Walk every year since. Jacobsen’s Department was an “old-fashioned” department store with wonderful, old wooden floors, distinctive but pleasant smells emanating from years being in the same place, and unbelievable inventory. We were sorry to see it close in 2007.

I was notified the day after the Winter Walk that I had won the drawing at the bike shop. When I went to claim my prize I was hoping I won the water bottle instead of the t-shirt, but my to my delight both the water bottle and a t-shirt were included in the prize so I was given both. That made me smile.

Advent

We began the advent season by attending a beautiful candle-lit Vespers Service at our church Sunday evening filled with wonderful songs, meaningful scripture and expressive words.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival Program, 2017

We attended the St. Olaf Christmas Festival a few nights before that. The festival’s theme was Ris’n With Healing In His Wings (a phrase from Hark! The Herald Angels Sing).

I’ve been ushered into this season of advent in two very special ways. In the coming weeks I look forward to seeing healing in His wings, and noticing everyday miracles these “waiting days” before Christmas.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Bachman’s Idea House

We’ve been taking wallpaper paste off walls, filling holes, sanding then painting and I have been deep cleaning right along to minimize the dry wall dust from settling in places it hasn’t already infiltrated. When I went to dust the top of the bookshelves in our living room I decided, since I had the ladder out, I would put up the Christmas décor we usually place there…it’s close enough to Christmas.

The vintage set on top of my bookshelves.

I inherited the black metal Santa sleigh and four reindeer candle holders from my mom. The set holds fond memories for me. My dad was a carpenter and built the house I grew up in. The fireplace was surrounded by stone and he placed three stone shelves – high to low, in step formation – for the mantel. It was the perfect place for this Christmas decoration. On the lower shelf Santa’s sleigh was set in angel hair (to depict snow or clouds?), two reindeer were one shelf higher and the last two reindeer were on the top shelf with garland cascading from sleigh to reindeer to reindeer to connect it all.

Although I don’t have the cascading shelves I put the set on top of my bookshelves with white lights underneath the angel hair, and then set the sleigh and reindeer with four red candles on top.

Last week I was at Bachman’s in Richfield to tour their Christmas Idea House and browse the many beautiful things they have for sale in their store.

The Idea House is a historic home on the property. The brochure tells me “Arthur Bachman Sr. and his wife built this home on Lyndale Avene in the early 1920’s.” Arthur was the second son of the founders of Bachman’s, Henry Sr. and Hattie Bachman. The house stayed in the family until 2001 according to the brochure.

Bachman’s Idea House – the dining room. I especially liked the bird dishes.

The theme for this year’s Idea House is “Dressed in Christmas Greenery” using “nature’s color palette.” There was much to look at, good ideas to take home and dreams for decorating my own home.

I was surprised to find they were selling black metal stick reindeer, similar to my 1950’s reindeer that I have on top of my bookshelves for the season.

Well, it’s a start.

Retirement, so far…

Over the summer people asked me if I was enjoying my retirement and I answered, “I’m not sure yet since I always had summers off. I’ll see what it’s like this fall.”

Well, fall has come and it has been busy with our annual trek to the north shore, our son home from Africa for a week and going to New Mexico to see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Those activities were wonderful, and a sign of retirement, but it wasn’t until last week that it really hit me.

Last Monday was the first day of Christmas Festival ticket sales. That was part of my job for the last 12 years so when the clock struck 9 on Monday morning I visualized the hustle and bustle going on in one little office area of St. Olaf College…producing huge results. I thought of all the folks racing the clock to order their tickets online and all the chaos of the moment. A wonderful and smart 2016 St. Olaf graduate took my job. He worked with me last year on the Christmas Festival so he knew the ticket sales system, and he knew of the usual chaos that goes along with it. It made for a smooth transition.

My supervisor, who became a dear friend, also retired in July (that was instrumental in my decision to retire). She had been at St. Olaf College for 31 years and the two of us were responsible for the C’fest (our affectionate term) ticket sales. We got together last week for coffee, which turned into 2 1/2 hours of conversation. On our way out of the coffee shop a retiree from St. Olaf stopped us to ask about Christmas Festival tickets…we smiled…and there we were…talking tickets sales once again.

It was fun to sit down with my friend and visit without time constraints. It is peaceful to go to the doctor’s office and not feel hurried to get back to work. The freedom in retirement is nice.

I’m grateful for the interesting job I enjoyed for 12 years. And I am grateful that I am healthy and able to enjoy retirement.

So now when people ask me, “How’s retirement?” I can truly say it’s great!

Retiring

Flowers and a diploma cover with an official retirement certificate inside were ours to take home after the reception for 40 retirees at St. Olaf College on Wednesday May 17, 2017. I’m retiring from St. Olaf College on June 1st. It has been a great place to work since 1998. I have had an unusual career there, working part-time over the years, in different departments but most consistently as the Christmas Festival ticket coordinator for twelve years. As was noted in my “spotlight” I felt it was a Christmas miracle each year as all the guests settled into 11,000+ seats to listen to their beloved choral tradition, every first weekend in December. It has been very good.. but now it is time for the next season.

Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
²A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
³A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
⁵A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
⁶A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
⁸A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

Another “Interruption of Service” Adventure

This is one of our many adventures we had while in Mozambique over the Christmas holiday in 2014. A different kind of “interruption of service” from two hired van drivers.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — The Indian Ocean

In 2014 our family spent Christmas together in Maputo, the city where my son (Tim) and his family lives. While we were all together my son planned a special stay at a resort on the Indian Ocean for the New Year. We had a late start the day we headed north to Zongoene Lodge. We rented a van and two drivers to help transport our large group – they arrived two hours late. Once on our way we drove out of the city traffic and had a nice drive along a four-lane highway. After a couple of hours we turned off the highway and started down a muddy, rutty, dirt road. The sun was setting. Our resort was still twenty-two miles away. There had been flash floods the night before and there were many flooded sections of the road. As we drove further into the countryside the road got muddier, the puddles got deeper, and the ride got scarier.

There were five of us in Tim’s car and the 12-passenger van, with the two hired drivers, carried seven others from our party. The road kept getting worse. We came upon another hill and Tim’s car slid down it. We pulled over and watched for the van – I was praying it would make it down the hill without toppling over. It did, but that was it…the angry drivers got out of the van and said they would go no further (as if it were our fault the roads were bad). It started raining again and night had fallen – and it was very dark – and we were somewhere in the middle of Mozambique – with a 2 ½ month old baby! Hmmm…I turned and said to my daughter-in-love, “it will be interesting to see how God gets us out of this mess.”

Well unbelievably, Tim’s cell phone worked, he called the lodge, and the manager borrowed four-wheel drive vehicles from resort guests and came to rescue us.

An overview of the landscape and resort on the Indian Ocean.

We waited over an hour but finally two vehicles arrived with the manager of the resort in one of them. We transferred our luggage and rearranged the twelve of us into the three vehicles. Then the van driver stepped on the accelerator, spun the van tires in the mud, turned the van around and sped away…madder than a hornet’s nest! They headed back to the city and we headed to the resort, another ten miles down the dark, flooded, muddy road.

We had been dispersed into different vehicles with strangers, in the middle of Mozambique, trusting we would all end up in the same place in a short while. The resort owner was behind the wheel of Tim’s car since he knew the road and could maneuver the dangerous spots. Another one of our party was a good sport. He ended up in the open bed of a pickup truck bouncing all the way to the resort…in the rain! Finally we all made it to Zongoene Lodge, at midnight, with a sigh of relief and praises to God.

We had an enjoyable week at the lodge on the Indian Ocean. The sun came out and the roads dried up so they were passable on the way out.

Lots of Lights

Because we were in Portugal during the Christmas season we saw many light decorations, in many different places.

Rua Augusta, the main street, had a circus tent theme with moving carousel horses on the light posts.

On another street were big colorful Christmas bows spanning across the street, lining several blocks. Another street had an umbrella theme.

There were Christmas trees and joyful angels and manger scenes.

But I couldn’t capture a photograph of my favorite display of lights. Early one morning as we headed out of town on a National Park tour, I noticed this boulevard several blocks long lined with trees that were draped in long strings of lights, like tinsel. It was a curious sight during the day and I wondered what it looked like at night. I was pleasantly surprised to see it lit up on our way back into town that evening. The effect was stunning. One of the most beautiful lights displays I’ve seen. Unfortunately I could not get a decent photo through the mini-van window. ;-(

Grandchildren, Family and Christmas 2016

Zoey, our 26 month old granddaughter, is adorable, adventurous and doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything…and she understands two languages!

Ezra, our nine month old grandson, is cute, happy and growing fast!

We arrived at the Lisbon airport on Christmas Eve day. We hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of our AirB&B apartment we had rented for the week. He dropped us off two blocks away since the apartment is on a street closed to traffic. He unloaded our luggage, gave us walking directions and drove away. We juggled our luggage, followed the directions, and found the apartment. The manager was there to give us the keys and instructions. We asked where we could buy groceries and we asked about a church where we might attend a Christmas Eve service. We didn’t make it to the church service…jet lag kept us away…it would have been a Catholic midnight mass – in Portuguese.

Our flat was on the third floor, the top floor, since they count the main level as zero. — Our flat was on the third floor, the top floor, since they count the ground level as zero.

We settled in and then went out to find the grocery store. We knew we had to buy for the next two days since the store would be closed on Christmas. We picked out things we could recognize… chicken breasts, rice, frozen carrots, bread, eggs and some cinnamon type toast to take the place of our traditional cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Our oldest son and his wife chose to stay in a hotel two blocks away from our apartment. After they settled in they came over and we waited for a call from our youngest son and his family. The call came and, of course, their taxi driver dropped them off at a different location a couple blocks away. They told us the name of the street so the four of us set out on a hunt to find them. They had to be within a two-block radius. Rua Augusta, was the street name they gave us and as we turned the corner – joy! – there they were standing their with their two young ones waiting to be found. It was a great reunion.

The next morning after not-so-good cinnamon toast, we read the Christmas story the children opened gifts and I brought a gift for everyone– warm and cozy slippers.

We sat down to a delicious meal. Our daughter-in-love took the few spices that were in the apartment kitchen and made a tasty chicken marinade with rice and carrots.

Later that evening, after dark, we walked to Rua Augusta (a pedestrian mall) and joined the throngs of people out on this pleasant Christmas evening. We walked to the plaza along the Rio Tejo where there was a tall, colorfully lit Christmas tree and vendors roasting chestnuts on an open fire (grill) which we tried and liked.

It was a very festive and wonderful European Christmas.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Portugal

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A street in Lisbon, looking towards the castle.

Portugal was not a country that I ever considered visiting but it was the only European city with a direct flight to and from Maputo, Mozambique where my son and his family live. So that is why we chose to meet in Lisboa (Lisbon) for our Christmas holiday. I’m so glad we did.

I’m not sure what the attraction was for me. My husband says it’s because we were with family, and of course that’s true, because whenever I’m with my family and grandchildren it’s the best time and place! But Portugal had a lot to offer and I have envisioned myself going back and spending a month or two there.

What made it so special? The people! They were so friendly. Also, we lived in an apartment while in Lisboa, and the bottom half of a house while we were on the coast in Nazare, which seems more authentic than staying in a hotel. I enjoyed the community plazas, parks and trees, the beautiful countryside, the water – the Rio Tejo (Tagus River) and Atlantic Ocean, the history, the quaint cobblestone streets. I liked the unique buildings of stucco or tile, with ironwork, trim painted different colors, all with clay colored roof tiles that made them interesting.

We had a wonderful time with lots of different activities…eating out, but also cooking at “home”. I loved the small mercado’s (markets) where we grocery shopped, and the reasonable prices. It was fun getting familiar with several words of a different language – and I am in awe of my grand-daughter who, at the age of 26 months, can understand both English and Portuguese. I loved the many Pastelarias (bakeries) and discovering a favorite pastry which is called Pastel de Nata…I might try to see if I can make it here at home.

The weather was unusually nice the locals told us. We had two days of rain out of 14 days and the temperature was in the 50’s (F). The natives were wondering where the rain was…we were thankful for the sunshine.

We visited many sites, with two young children who were troopers (as was their mom and dad getting them ready and carrying them many different times). We went to Castelo De S. Jorge (St. George Castle) built in the 11^th century. We walked up, up, up the hill from where we were staying in Lisboa to beautiful views from the castle…a National Monument “that occupies the old medieval citadel and consists of the castle, the ruins of the former royal palace as well has part of a residential neighborhood” (first settlements in 7-8^th century B.C.)”

One day we took a trolley to Belem, the port city where many years ago so many explorers left Portugal to discover new lands. We had a private tour to a national park along the Atlantic Ocean with beautiful vistas and beaches. We enjoyed walking the narrow old neighborhood streets and the big bustling city streets. We went in the oldest book store in the world (1732) and Cervejaria Trindade, the oldest and most beautiful beer house in Portugal (a convent turned into a beer factory).

We went to see the modern section of Lisboa too, to a park plaza along the Rio Tejo, and to Oceanario de Lisboa, an aquarium…how fun to see the wonder and amazement in the children’s eyes.

While staying north of Lisboa we took several day trips to near-by towns. One day we walked around Obidos (means walled town) with a 14th century wall encircling this town on a hill which is very quaint and picturesque. We visited several old churches dating as far back as the 11^th century…how did they build them so large and so straight and so tall back then?

Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria, Alcobaca, Portugal. Construction began in 1178.

Bertrand bookshop is the oldest operating bookshop, established in 1732.

Of course, being with family…both sons and their wives, and holding our nine-month-old grandson Ezra (who wasn’t so sure of us the first few days) and walking hand-in-hand with Zoey, our granddaughter, was the best.

To be continued…