My Tribute to Michelle Edwards...Sweet Something's Designs

This is the photograph that made me fall in love with Michelle Edwards.

A few years  ago I was idling away an hour on Houzz, looking for great Christmas ideas when I hit upon this photo. I was smitten the moment I saw it! Be still my heart...tartan! Who uses a tartan blanket in a tablescape? Who hosts a dinner on a rustic picnic table when it's cold outside?  Visions of a Pacific Northwest winter's day in the woods, friends gathering for a bowl of hot chili and apple cider, sitting at a beautiful, rustic table replete with hurricane lamps and tartan swirled in my imagination.

I had to see more design by this gifted lady who's art had touched me so profoundly. Lucky me...she had a blog called "Sweet Something's Design." I was hooked. It was filled with gracious, lovely home designs. And it was authored by and equally lovely and gracious woman; Michelle. Her posts were so intimate...like her designs! No wonder she had such loyal followers. I became one of them.
Most of her writing and photos were about her craft; but occasionally she posted personal things. I'll never forget her first post informing us that she had a very aggressive form of cancer. It was heartbreaking. She had everything to live for...a handsome husband, two adorable sons, a great business, a pretty home...and a gift for making everything around her beautiful. She continued to share her designs, but increasingly we would read about chemotherapy sessions, loss of hair, and her longing to beat the disease. I remember reading how she cried because her first session of trying an experimental treatment would prevent her from her youngest son's first day at school. (Not first day ever, but the first day in mid-elementary school.) I cried too, knowing that she was afraid that this might be the last 'first day' she would have the opportunity to share with her boy.

"How does a mother face the possibility of leaving this earth before seeing her children safely raised?" I wondered as I read her posts.

She faced it. Bravely. Candidly. With hope and resolve to fight.

Michelle Edwards fought hard. She lost the battle with cancer but she won the hearts of each of us who read and watched and cried and prayed with her; hoping for a miracle.

I've been thinking about Michelle in heaven. I've read accounts from those who've visited and been sent back-- that there are glorious things we've never imagined there. Dazzling colors of hues we cannot see with our mortal eyes, grass that somehow breathes and sings beneath your feet. Paradise for anyone; but especially for an artist! I imagine her in some heavenly woodland; gathering sticks and leaves, berries and flowers for some kind of wreath or centerpiece to adorn her new home; the one Jesus promised. Waiting and preparing with anticipation for a day she'll be reunited with her precious sons and husband.

I fell in love with Michelle Edwards the designer for her lovely, creative, and gracious art.

I now love Michelle for her gracious, lovely and courageous life.

Michelle, I haven't hosted that rustic dinner in the woods yet; but I plan to. And when I do, I'll be thinking of you!

Rustic Dining Room by Webb City Media & Bloggers Michelle Edwards

Flying Fairies and Monster Trucks...and Penguins in the Freezer

I was helping out in "Mr. Smith's" kindergarten class this morning. I go there every day for a few hours to help struggling students master their ABCs and 123's. This week before the holidays has been especially busy as unsteady little hands ever-so-carefully paint watercolor pictures, cut out jaggedy snowmen, and get all sticky as they glue snippets of green crepe-paper onto wreath shaped posterboard. 

This morning as Mr. S. was taking roll, he asked each student this question, "If you had all the money in the world, what would you buy Mrs. Rorvig (that's me) for Christmas?"

Here are a few of their ideas...

A diamond purple bracelet
A flying fairy
A big monster truck with flowers and hearts on the wheels that I can mash old rusty cars with
A penguin that I can keep in the freezer (my favorite)
An angel fish
A beautiful dress with diamonds all over it
A computer
A fancy necklace
A beautiful Christmas tree
5 cookies
A horse
A ring. Not just any ring but one that sparkles.
A Seattle Seahawks colored pickup truck


The sheer joy and pleasure on their little faces as they described in great detail what they wanted to buy for me was the sweetest Christmas present ever. Because it's not about the present; but that they love me enough to wish such wonderful, magical things for me.

Am I not the richest person in the world? No doubt...I am.

So I wish you the Merriest Christmas filled with flying fairies, penguins in the freezer, monster trucks with flowered wheels, fanciful necklaces and angel fish. And most of all I hope that you will experience the pure love of a little child...as we remember that one precious Child and the gift He brought to us on that Wonderful Night.

Merry Christmas Friends! Merry Christmas!

Merry and Bright

Things are getting merrier and brighter in the Rorvig household, thanks to two very special Christmas 'elves'...Kayla and Kayden. They came over and helped me decorate this weekend. They did a lovely job on the tree and set up my Nutcracker Village. It's so much more festive around here now!

 

Of course I had to take the opportunity to try out my new camera lens...a 50mm prime lens, affectionately called the 'Nifty Fifty' by Canon users. All of the review said it's great for portraits and that stuff called bokah that we love so much! So the girls decorated and I played with my camera.

We ate burgers, munched on donuts and hot chocolate, and caught up on what's going on in their world.

 

What really nice girls they are.

 

What a really nice day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made Posie-cat and Baron pose in front of the Christmas tree so I could see just how nice the bokah effect was with this lens. I like it!

 

 

 

Yep. Those two girls are real keepers.

 

Hope your Christmas preparations are all merry and bright!

***

 



Gloomy December Greetings

The Pacific Northwest is gloomy in the winter. But with the gloominess comes a certain serenity and introspection. It' a time to be pensive; to think about things. Oh yes I do love the sun, but I would not trade my gloomy Decembers for sun-filled ones. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Many  a damp Saturday mornings will find us in the woods with our labrador retriever. He loves to race over brambles and logs; sniffing deeply the scent of rabbits and squirrel. I love the walk for different reasons...the heady smell of fern and moss beneath my boots, a single maple leaf floating silently to the ground, and the sound of Canadian geese calling out to one another...we watch them sail over the treetops and then they are gone. And then it is quiet in the woods once more. Maybe this is why I decided not to make my home all Victorian fru-fru this Christmas season. I want need something more simple.

Oh yes, the grandchildren set up the Nutcracker Village on the armoire in my living room. And the Christmas tree is adorned with jewel-colored lights this year. (Albeit I must admit to not having put a single ornament on it this year, except for the one that Isabella made for me for my birthday with her very own little hands.)

But my family room, the place where we really live is different. Just a few select items here...a wooden nativity, a woodsy centerpiece and perhaps a few sprigs of fir. And three bark-wrapped candles sit on the kitchen eating nook. When lit they remind me of the Trinity...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Blessings to you this gloomy December!

 May He lighten your darkness and warm your hearts this holiday season...and may you always sense His abiding Peace.

Christmas Wishes, Poetry and Thanks

Hello friends,

Christmas is less than one week away. I suppose that you are bustling about your homes, busy with last minute preparations. I will soon be off to visit my son Samuel for a few days, followed by a visit to my house from son John and his family, and daughter Heather and her brood. In between will be gatherings with hubby's clan and my wonderful stepchildren.

 It's about Jesus. It's about family. And about friends like you, who for some unexplicable reason visit my little spot in the cyber-universe. Thank you! Your visits and thoughtful comments have warmed my heart all year long.  I'll leave you with two reposts, poems by meself-- and my fondest wishes that you have a Merry, Joyful, and Meaningful Christmas...and that the New Year be filled with Peace and Happiness, and that you will ever keep your sense of awe and wonder.

A Christmas Greeting

by Debora Rorvig

On this wintry Sunday eve

I'm nestled in my cozy old

well-worn chair

by the fireplace;

Watching raindrops slowly drizzling

down the windowpanes

and reveling in the luxury

of Quiet.

The Christmas tree twinkles brightly in the corner near the fire,

it's boughs are fragrant fir.

I yawn a bit and sigh

and sip my chamomile tea

from my favorite flowery mug,

And reminisce of Christmas's past

And firelight

And mistletoe...

and You.

***



God,

How must you have felt

the day You tenderly wrapped

Your only Son

in Human flesh

and laid him on a bed of straw

at the doorstep of this world?

Who am I

that You would give your precious Child

to me?

Debora Rorvig

 

***

An Outdoor Christmas Picnic on Tartan...Oh My!

Fabulous idea and photo by Michelle Edwards of sweetsomethingdesign.blogspot.com
As seen on Houzz.com
For more wonderful pics of this beautiful setting, go to http://www.houzz.com/photos/94703/Winter-Tablescape-traditional-dining-room-kansas-city

So I was looking through my latest Houzz.com installment and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a series on using tartan in holiday decorating! Be still my heart!!! I always have tartan in my house at Christmas, even if it's just bows on the trees. I always have tartan in my house period. After all, I am the great-great grand-daughter of Alexander Laughlin McKinnon!

I must admit, it has never once entered my head to use a tartan blanket as a tablecloth...now I can't get it out of my head. I'm having visions of a late lunch in the winter woods with my nice dishes on a tartan blanket, hurricane candles a-flickering! My menu would be a hearty, home-made beef stew with flaky baking powder biscuits. Or chili and cornbread. After a dessert of shortbread and wassail we'd take a brisk walk in the woods, perhaps sing a few Christmas carols. I feel a new tradition coming on!

What would your menu be for a Christmas picnic in the woods?

PS. If you love decorating you've just gotta check out Houzz and Michelle Edwards' blog!



December's Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside my window it's dusky and chilly and the moon is already out. Hubby and puppy are playing ball in the backyard. I can see their breath as they race across the frosty ground together. Hubby waves at me to watch them...Baron has learned to leap like a deer and catch the ball mid-air. Out front the neighbors Christmas lights are lit and giving the frozen evening a cheery glow.

I am thinking about Nativity Scenes. On my way to work yesterday I drove past a shoddy house with a poorly-painted plywood nativity scene in their front yard. My first thought was, "How crummy looking!" But at the same time I felt happy that this family was celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas. Then I started thinking about how almost bizarre it is that we decorate our lawns and mantles with  images of a newly delivered baby in a bed of straw. I mean, what other religion does that? But then, what other religion claims that GOD has visited this earth in the form of a man? The GOD of the universe, naked, lying in itchy hay, crying and wetting and needing someone to feed him. It boggles the mind! The Divine Condescension!

I am thankful that it's real. Christmas. It really did happen.

In the kitchen under the window sits my pink Thanksgiving cactus; still blooming. It's in an old- fashioned planter...a ring of white geese. Somehow they reminds me of Grandma's house.

I am wearing skinny jeans under a wheat colored cable knit sweater-jacket. I have a soft camel, red, and black plaid scarf about my neck. My brown, knee high boots have three buckled straps on them. I fancy that they look like riding boots.

I am creating a more modern and comfortable bedroom. I took out the old Victorian bed and replaced it with a simple boxed spring and mattress on a frame. The old headboard partly covered the window and blocked the light; now I awaken to soft, filtered light streaming into the room. Since getting rid of the old footboard, hubby can sit on the end of the bed in the mornings and chat with me while he drinks his coffee and I struggle to wake up.  I've replaced my brightly colored quilts with a fawn colored quilt and an ivory fake fur throw. The walls are fawn colored and the woodwork is ivory. It's all very monochromatic and restful. The only artwork is a black and white charcoal piece I drew in college-- a picture of an English chap walking his corgi along a country lane. Very appropriate for Kelly and me. Soon I will paint the side tables ivory, replace the dresser with a very simple, modern one, and sew a new bedskirt by taking an old one, ripping the skirt part off of the part that goes under the mattress, and replacing the skirt part with fabric of my choice, perhaps a linen color with a small repeated, diamond-shaped print--like you see on men's pajamas. What do you call that pattern anyway?

I am going to see my friend Michelle's daughter Breton, in a production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" tomorrow afternoon. Breton is playing Schroeder. He's my favorite Peanuts character, him and Snoopy. Who doesn't love Snoopy?

I am wondering if there are any new episodes of "Parenthood" on our DVR. Kelly and I both love that show. Will Crosby and Jasmine get back together? Kelly says yes, but I have my doubts.

I am reading books I've already read. I like to do that. And I like to read several books at once; so when I become bored with one subject, I just hop over to a new one. This month I'll re-read "Follow Your Passion, Find Your Power",  "A Child's Christmas in Wales", "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Day", "An Altar in the World", "The Heart of Abundance", and I hope to check out "Shepherds Abiding". (Brenda, over at It's a Wonderful Life mentioned this book. I think I've read all of the 'Mitford' books, but I can't remember.) In case you're wondering, this is a lot to read in a few weeks, so I probably won't read these books in their entirety... just my favorite parts. It's OK to do that...really!

I am hoping that my friend Tammy remembers to give me an invitation to Pinterest. Or that somebody does! Pinterest has a waiting list, and the only way to get on right now is to be invited...anyone out there on Pinterest...?

I am looking foward to spending a Christmas with my son Sam and his family in Las Vegas. We haven't had Christmas with Sam for over 15 years. We do see Sam in the summer, but it's been way too long since I've sat across a Christmas meal with my son. Actually, we're celebrating on the 23rd. Sam drives a limousine for a living; and Christmas day through New Years are his busiest work days of the year. I can't wait to take the boys shopping for their presents. I'm sure the malls in Vegas will be decked out to the hilt! I'll take plenty of pictures.

I am hearing the Heismann trophy presentations on ESPN. (Hubby and puppy dog have come in from the backyard and are settled in the family room with me.) Hubby says that the finalists are Andrew Luck, Montee Ball, Trent Richardson, Robert Griffin III, and  Tyrann Mathieu. Do I really care about this? Nope. But hubby does, and he tolerates my ramblings about ivory-painted side tables. So I listen when he tells me about football stuff. The compromises of a happy marriage.

Around the house things are in a pleasant disarray. They've been that way since we got a dog. I think it's an improvement. Things used to be almost too clean around here. Now the little braided rug by the front door has a pair of boots sitting on it; in anticipation of the next walk--and a few leaves and twigs from the last walk. The slipcover on the sofa is rumpled and the Chrismas quilt that I tossed haphazardly over the back of it has been claimed by Posie cat for her evening nap. Adjacent the fireplace is Baron's bed, where he is presently lying...contentedly chewing on a bone.

I am pondering how to be a true servant of Christ, how Christ was a servant-king, and how that would look in my everyday life. I know that serving Him does not mean being a doormat or saying yes to every time someone asks you to do something. It's a poor analogy, but I look at my dog. He knows that I am his master. He should prefer my voice to anyone elses. Do I prefer His voice to my own? Would I rather listen to people than to Him? I have such a long way to go in this area of my life! But I'm not discouraged. I have come long and far from where I started in my walk with Him.

One of my favorite things is writing this blog. It's relaxing and very cathartic. I love mixing words in much the way a painter mixes color. Words are colorful. They are powerful. Soothing. The can be  anything you want them to be.

A few plans for the rest of the week--Oh I hate to think of it! It's the last week of school before winter break. I'll be trying to insert information into the heads of children who's brains have turned to cotton fluff in anticipation of Christmas! There are presents to be purchased and sent to Oregon. Plans must be finalized for the Las Vegas trip--what to wear, boarding the dog, printing the airline tickets, etc. Ah well, I won't worry about it now.

Here's a picture for a thought I am sharing

My charcoal drawing. I copied this off of a photograph from an old calendar. Sadly, I don't recall the photographer's name.

Prompts courtesy of : http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

What to Keep and What to Eliminate at Christmas

I've been a little preoccupied these days. Hubby bought me a shiny new toy for my birthday...a SLR camera...a big girl toy! So I've been pouring over manuals and websites and tutorials, learning all about shutter speeds and aperatures and such. Boy, it's a lot to learn, but it will be so much fun! Remember those beautiful wreathes that Starbucks had a couple of years ago...the ones with the balls that look like yarn on them? One of my sons worked for them back then, and when he heard me raving about how beautiful the wreathes were, one magically appeared on my porch! The photo above is a close up of that wreath. Love that wreath!

I haven't even really decorated for Christmas...just a few favorite things in the family room; the place where we spend most of our time. As you can see, it's pretty casual. I don't think I'll ever be a fancy girl. Things always turn out this way for me...homey.



A few winters ago we spent a few days after Christmas at Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia. We love it there...that's where we spent our honeymoon eons ago. Well, not too far from Harrison is a little town called Harrison Mills. It's situated on the river. It's not really a town. More like a whistle-stop. One of the residents there has a quaint little Christmas shop in a cabin next to her home. That's where this little snowman came from. He reminds me of so many happy times spent at Harrison.



I was messing with lighting on this photo. Don't you love those newfangled battery operated candles? I can now 'burn' candles all over the house without having to breathe in the smoke, which my nosey finds irritating.

This is a closeup of a Christmas pillow that my mom made. She passed away a few years ago, so you can just imagine what this pillow means to me. For the first 12 years of her life, back in the early 1900's Mom was raised on a farm back in Michigan. She used to tell me stories of skating on ponds, skiing on home-made skis made from barrel staves, and riding to school in the winter on the neighbors horse-drawn sleigh. I imagine that she dreamed of those childhood days as she stitched this scene.



Yep, it's fake. I love real poinsettias, but our new puppy dog might decide to munch on a leaf. And that would not make for a Merry Christmas! This year the flowers will be fake and the tree will sit atop the fireplace, 'cause we love our puppy more than our traditions. ( Hmmm, guess I'd better be a little pickier about my subjects with this new camera...just look at that thread on the flower petal. You can see that I'm a rank amateur!)

Oh well, it's all a learning process, isn't it?

On a personal note, I'm really forcing myself to scale back this year.  We're doing some traveling over the holidays, so the grandkids are likely to find checks in their stockings. I'm considering not sending out Christmas cards, and I probably won't make the usual iced sugar cookies. I'm not channelling Ebenezer Scrooge, but this year, I want to get out of the house and see people. Go to concerts. Look at lights. I'm attempting to see what Christmas would be like without all of the self-imposed obligations. Of course we'll keep the most important traditions...but honestly, how many things do you at Christmas that have become burdens? I'm not asking hypothetically, I'd really like to know...are there things you plan to eliminate from the holidays this year? Things you started to do years ago, but maybe are no longer important to you or your family?



Christmas Shopping in the 60's...Downtown

Once upon a time...long, long ago; before the days of malls, black Friday, cyber-shops and revolving credit cards...

There was Downtown. That's where we shopped for Christmas.

Going downtown was a big event. There would be a visit with Santa Claus at the J.C. Penneys store followed by a ride on the escalator up to the second floor. Penneys had the only escalator in town. My first escalator ride was terrifying. I stood there at the bottom for a long time, trying to jump on the moving step at just the right time. When I finally did, I made the serious mistake of grasping a part of the hand rail that didn't move so my feet were swept  up with the moving steps, but my hands and torso remained stationary at the bottom. I couldn't let go, lest I fall flat on my back! A nice gentleman heard my hysterical screaming and rushed over to pluck me off of the diabolical contraption. To this day whenever I have to take an escalator, my hands get all clammy and  I still shuffle about as I try to put my foot on the step at exactly the right time. 

Our Christmas shopping usually began sometime around the last payday before Christmas. I don't remember anyone using credit cards, but certainly we did not. All of our Christmas presents had to come out of that paycheck. And our Christmas list was small by today's standards, just one modest gift for immediate family members. Grandma Cline would receive  a pair of nice silk nylons or Emeraude dusting powder with a fluffy powder puff; and Grandpa would get a small can of Prince Albert pipe tobacco. (The thought of which causes fond recollection of a childhood prank we used to play...You call the local store and ask, "Do you have Prince Albert in the can?" The clerk replies yes, to which you yell, "Well go let him out!" Then you hang up and laugh hysterically with your friends. Another variation is to call KFC and ask, "How big are your breasts?" Of course we only had party-lines back then, so you always ran the risk of a neighbor listening in on your prank and telling the folks.)

We always got Dad a warm plaid Pendleton wool shirt, usually in deep shades of green or blue. Our presents for Mom varied, but the one I remember most distinctly was a fancy new G.E. electric hair dryer with a pink plastic bonnet. That year that Dad and Mom were both out of work; Mom had a broken ankle with a bad ulcer on it that took a whole year to heal; and Dad had been diagnosed with emphysema. That was the year I emptied all of the pennies from my piggy bank to help pay for the hair dryer.  I'd been saving those pennies since I was five. Mom cried when she opened her present. I thought she didn't like it, but Dad said we did good.

Mom used the portable hair dryer for years and years. I guess Dad and I did 'do good'.

Dad had a shirt just like this. If I close my eyes I can almost feel the softness of the wool and smell  him...all earthy and woodsy.

No Christmas shopping expedition downtown would have been complete without stopping for a burger at Woolworths luncheonette. It was set up like a big soda fountain with chairs that  you could spin around on until you became so dizzy you toppled right off! The burgers were sloppy-greasy and loaded with fried onions. I always ordered a fizzy drink called Green River. It was lime flavored and oh, so refreshing!



photo from newraleigh.com

 Wahls and the Bon Marche were the two fanciest department stores in town. We were too poor to buy much from them, but they had pretty rose-colored lounges in the ladies restroom. Sometimes Mom and I would scale the stairways, arms laden with packages, just to sit on their cushy divans and rest our aching feet. Oh the days of ladies lounges! A place where harried women took their cranky children, teenage girls experimented with new shades of lipstick, and white haired grandmothers smelling of lavender rested from their shopping before hoofing it down the stairway and back into the city streets.

a Macy's window display

And how festive the city was at Christmas! Storefronts were elaborately decorated--not with the latest Michael Kors designer dress or Coach handbags, but with sweet images of the season...giant nutcrackers and sugarplum fairies, santas and elves, and trains that whistled. Even though I'm sure these sumptuous storefronts were meant to draw customers into the store, they also provided holiday entertainment to shoppers and especially the children...and they were free for the looking!

It was ever-so-delightful to stroll down Cornwall Avenue on a chilly winter's eve, so much the more if  it was snowing. Into one store, then on to the next, with our new-found treasures stashed securely in beautifully printed shopping bags...not at all like the flimsy ones you see today. Woolworths, The 88 Cent Store, Newberry's, Pay n Save, Wahls, the Golden Rule, Mode O Day, Sears Roebuck, Gallenkamps, and the Bon Marche were some of the places we stopped. Sadly just a few of those old names remain...Penneys and Sears. Macy's bought the Bon Marche and they all moved to the mall. Oh yes, there are other stores at the mall, and now you don't have to go outside to shop...but that was what made it fun...and and adventure. Now, instead of enjoying a brisk winter's walk while shopping, weary consumers trudge doggedly down the mall corridors, listening to music in a can and breathing recirculated air. They cringe as they purchase more than they should on their Visa Gold card, and regret their expenditures with every 24 percent interest payment in the year to come.

Do you know what this writer most often found under the tree on Christmas morning as a child? A simple dolly. Not Chatty Cathy or one who walks or crawls or poops in their diapers...just a doll. Maybe a puzzle or a picture book. My Christmas stocking contained a shiny apple, a fresh orange, some jacks and an Old Maid game. Grandma always gave me a pair of sensible flannel pajamas, and my sister sewed pretty outfits for the doll. My brothers' families often gave me stocking hats, knitted slippers or a teddy bear.  And it was wonderful! Because Christmas is wonderful.

Even though Christmas is vastly different these days, it still can be wonderful if you make it so.

A little Christmas advice... Put on your parka and stocking hat. Leave your credit cards at home and go outside. Look at the lights. Sing carols with your little ones-teach them all the words to Silent Night and We Three Kings. Then go back home and drink hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows on top and eat sugar cookies laden with frosting. Turn off the Wii-- play checkers. Get out your Bible and read the story again. The one about Mary and Joseph and the angels who announced the birth of Jesus to lowly shepherds. Lay aside your sophisticated skepticism and allow yourself to once again become a child and believe.

Just believe.

Merry Christmas!



Moments

What a lovely Thanksgiving weekend we had; spent in the bestest way ever...with family. There were so many special moments; sweet images that I've tucked safely away into my heart. There were laughing moments--smiling moments--and eye's welling with thankful tears moments. The photo I've used for my blog header was a smiling, thankful, teary moment for me; as I watched my son John, his wife Karen, and their two sweet children decorate their Christmas tree. Karen has seen to it that every event of their marriage and family has been commemorated with a special ornament--there was a bride and groom, photos of the children as babies, ornaments from sporting events, family vacations, ballerinas and footballs, and even puppy Millie's first collar! And so as each ornament was carefully placed upon the tree, the children recalled all of the happy moments that they have spent together as a family.  Seven-year-old Ana wanted to place the star atop the tree, as did little brother Dane; so they decided that it would be done by all...as a new family tradition.

My daughter Heather, her husband Edgar, and their four gorgeous children also live in the Portland area. They drove Kelly and I downtown on Saturday to look at the sights of the big city. Portland was all a-sparkle for the holidays. Much fancier than our little one-horse town! We went to Pioneer Square Mall. The younger children, Sophia and Isabella, got to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. (3-year old Sophia confided to me later that Santa has stinky breath and that he needs to brush his teeth. However, she was kind enough not to tell the old gent! Definitely a laughing moment!) Thirteen-year-old Jordynn did some browsing in her fav store. I think Junior's favorite part was lunch--Chinese. Of course we went to Powell's Bookstore. We HAD to. I may read piles of books, but my daughter Heather reads MOUNTAINS of books, so every trip to Portland must include a bookstore stop! Then we all went over to Icebreaker, the store my son John manages. Everything in the store is made of merino wool. Everything. Even the underwear. It's high end stuff. Check it out: http://www.icebreaker.com/


  Can you see my grand-daughter Isabella in the ornament? (That's me in the background.)

Did I mention the birthday party? They had a little party for my 56th birthday. It was sweet, very very sweet.

This whole wonderful weekend has put me in the mood for the holidays. Let the decorating begin!

(BTW; I still plan to write about shopping downtown in the good ole days, as promised. Real soon, I promise.)

***

Just Silly

I think my new dog has made a fool out of me; kinda like those new grandparents with a slew of baby pics-but what the heck!

And the Light Shineth in Darkness

My friend Sharon redecorated her dining room last spring and generously gave me her old chandelier. I love chandeliers with lampshades, and have been waiting for months to decorate it for Christmas. As noted previously, we are not going all out on decorations this year in consideration of our new pup Koda-don't want her eating the ornaments! So I used fake greenery and berries with a bit of my favorite red and green tartan ribbon. It's very cheery and festive.

Looking at the pictures of my light reminded me of the Light of the World. John 1:5 says that ...the Light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not. My great friend and Bible scholar, the late Dr. Bert Dearden, used to tell me that the word 'comprehended' in this text would be better translated as over-powered. I love that. Jesus still shines in the darkness; and no matter how dark things appear; they can never overpower His light. So if, for any reason, you are facing dark times during this holiday season; take heart; the Light of Christ is far more powerful than your dark circumstances. Look to Him today; and find light for your life!

***

Little Touches of the Season

My Christmas decorating will be a little subdued this year with the addition of puppy Koda to our pack. She has already confused balls of knitting yarn with her tennis ball-so I'm not going to tempt her with a tree laden with glass ball-shaped ornaments. This Christmas in the Rorvig household will probably be about small touches- little vignettes, carefully placed where playful paws can't get to them. These sweet vintage mugs were the first to come out. I imagine the couple on the mug as happy Christmas shoppers-he's offering to carry her packages. May your shopping be as festive and delightful.

And remember:

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

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