Transmigration Wood Working Frame

I was the very happy recipient of one of Matt's custom frames.  Last Christmas, Tammy and Richard gave us a print of one of their son-in-law Colby Sanford's pieces.  Colby is making quite a name for himself in the art world.  I was thrilled to receive one of his prints.To make the print even more exciting, the original will be hanging in the US Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland.

The inlay on both the front of the frame and on the edges is all recycled skateboard.  And the interesting pattern in the wood is something called ray fleck.   I had never heard of it but Matt gave me a quick tutorial!

Most of the small wood cells in a tree run up and down in the stem, conducting fluids from the roots to the leaves.  A few cells run in and out from the bark to the center of the stem.  These cells, that primarily store starches and sugars in the tree, are called ray cells.  When cut a certain way, these ray cells make interesting patterns called 'ray fleck'. 

What a blessing it is to have such talented young men in the family!  

An artist with painting and an artist with wood! 

Reading Challenge

I was one of the 4,425,195 people who participated in the Goodreads Reading Challenge this year.

When we lived in Portland I was in two Book Clubs so I read quite a few books.  I haven't gotten involved in a book group yet in Eagle and I must admit that I have LOVED the freedom of reading whatever I wanted.  At the same time I've missed the camaraderie of discussing books with other women, as well as the mental stimulation of reading books that I might not have picked for myself.

I hope to get involved in a group this year.

A few of the books I've enjoyed the most from the 50 I've read:

Who would have guessed that a book about a prostitute, a bank robber and con men would be so entertaining? 

I highly recommend this book which is about family!  It isn't a thriller or a romance and at times seems a bit slow, but it is a wonderfully written and well thought out novel.  The last section, told from the father's point of view is gut-wrenchingly beautiful and ties everything together so well. 

 I loved Britt-Marie and all the characters.  I didn't want this one to end! 

 A really wonderful historical fiction account of both life in Ireland and the life of Irish immigrants to the US. 

The story of Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11 when 38 jumbo jets were grounded there.  The quote sums it up - “This was the very definition of community.  A community bound by faith and common values.” 

Just a terrific story, also set in Ireland.  I loved all the characters! 

This one touched my soul because of my love for Africa.  I have seen the women walk long distances carrying water jugs on their heads.  Thankfully I have no experience with the 'lost boys' or the wars that seem all too common on this continent. 

Cancer Update

My calcitonin continues to stay under 40.  Calcitonin is the marker that is looked for in the semi-annual blood tests for those with Medullary Thyroid Cancer.  Most people with metastasis have numbers in the 1000s or even 10,000. This means that while I still have cancer cells somewhere in my body, they are too small to show up on a scan or ultrasound.  I still have no symptoms at all from the cancer, just a little tightness in my neck on the right side where I had surgery in 2016. I have almost complete mobility and it doesn't affect my daily life at all.  I am very blessed.

The biggest excitement this year was at my appointment in September when my doctor casually mentioned that my 2017 scan had shown 2 kidney stones.  Now I have had absolutely no symptoms of a kidney stone.  I know how painful they are because all my children and George have had them.  He suggested I have a renal ultrasound to see what was going on in my kidneys.

The excitement was that I was leaving in just a few days to go to Kenya where there is practically NO medical care at all.  The logical part of my brain reminded me that I had felt nothing for 2 years and was unlikely to suddenly have a problem.  But the illogical part kept thinking WELL IT COULD HAPPEN!  I flew off to Kenya.  After waking up with a slight back ache for 2 mornings, I was starting to get panicky until my roommate mentioned that her back hurt too and we realized that you could feel the slats of the bed through the very thin mattress.  Panic averted!

When I got home I had a renal ultrasound and there were no stones present.  I guess they passed on their own.  I'm thankful. So I am still on 'wait and watch' with twice a year trips to my doctor in Portland who is a Medullary Cancer expert.

Family Christmas Photo

It's hard to get a 4 year old to be still, especially when using a self timer!  And yes I am SHORT!  I should have Isabella stand by me so that I look taller.  But would it help?  Not that much! 

Just three photos I love

Christmas Day

Santa left Isabella a Barbie sized doll house at Grandma and Grandpa's this year! 

 Jesse from Toy Story and Elsa from Frozen were pretty popular too.  Isabella posed them just like she wanted and then had me take a photo. 

I think the dolls and the little girl all enjoyed the new house with its fancy furniture.  Jesse even decided to have a bath! 

George was thrilled with a BIG box of Frango mints.  These were a tradition in his home growing up  in Chicago. Originally they were only sold at Marshall Fields.  Each Lewis child got a box of 12.  Karen made hers last all year.  George and John weren't so disciplined! 

I was great to have Scott home, even if he has recently decided to become Vegan.  He's been vegetarian for 10 years and that was workable but vegan is a whole new ballgame for me!  I'm proud of him for his determination.

The traditional Lewis Family Christmas breakfast was particularly challenging but he was cheerful in the face of cinnamon rolls and breakfast pizza.  I made him a special veggies only pizza!

After presents, Matt and Scott headed to Bogus Basin to ski 

We went for a walk where Bella found Olaf!

Elsa, Jesse and Barbie went on the walk along with us!

We gave Isabella a "Hungry Hungry Hippos" game because we had such good memories of playing it with our kids.  It is still fun but the new version is oh so cheaply made. I lost because I had a Malfunctioning hippo!  Can you see where Isabella got her competitive streak?  

You can buy a 'vintage' game from the 1980s for over $60.  Why didn't I save ours? 

This was my first experience with SLIME!  It is kind of weird but I enjoyed it, probably because Bella did.

 

Miss Bella had her own 'made to order' Christmas dinner of nuggets and top ramen before going home for a nap! Notice that the dolls are still close by! 

 And even in the recliners, George and I managed to stay awake! 

We ended our day with an 8:45 showing of "The Rise of Skywalker". I thought the movie was very good.  

May the force be with you!

Last on the agenda for the day was to see the last Star Wars Movie. I remember seeing the 1st Star Wars movie when we were newlyweds, then later taking our children to see them and buying lots of Star Wars toys, then seeing the 'prequel' and the 'sequel' with our teenagers and young adult children.  Star Wars is definitely a part of our culture and they tied things up nicely.  I love Harrison Ford's appearance and the voices of all the Jedi masters.  I also love how the whole thing started with the unlikely friendship of Luke, Han and Leia and ended with another friendship of Rey, Poe, and Finn.  

Christmas Eve 2019

After Christmas in 2017, I decided that we needed to revamp our Christmas Eve traditions.  Our 'kids' were too old and Isabella was too young to enjoy what we had traditionally done.  So....I got creative and added minute-to-win-it games and a fondue dinner to our tried and true traditions of reading the nativity story from Luke and George's recitation of "Christmas Eve on the Desert.".  Grandpa Lewis recited that poem every single Christmas Eve and we all love hearing George recite it now.  I hope this tradition will continue into our children's homes.

First we made ornaments.  This year, with Matt's help, we made melted crayon ornaments. I love the way they turned out. 

We interspersed games with delicious appetizers. Fun penguins 

 A snowman cheese ball

Deviled eggs & Mandarin Chicken bites 

Fancy pigs in blankets, shrimp and a vegan soup   

Then we enjoyed cheese fondue.  

Went for a walk around our neighborhood and enjoyed the festive light displays. 

Friends from the ward won  the 'Judges Choice' Award in our neighborhood competition 

 Isabella and BB-8 

6 Minute-to-win-it games including  

Reindeer antler toss 

I actually won the antler toss game! Just have to point that out since I never have won one of these games! 

Isabella had a score card and participated in some of the games with enthusiasm.  She DOES NOT LIKE TO LOSE!  We know where she got that and it isn't from her mom's side of the family!

Christmas Tree Cup Stack 

Pin the Nose on the Snowman was a hit! 

Snowman Jingle Bell Slide 

When she decided that she had enough games for the evening, she enjoyed watching a movie on my I-pad. 

We managed to totally stuff ourselves with yummy sweets dipped in chocolate! 

Lots of messy fun! 

In a slight change from tradition we watched the new video from our church which tells the nativity story.  It is truly beautiful and adds some interesting insights into the familiar story.

And of course George recited, "Christmas Eve on the Desert".

It was the beginning of a 
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!