It MUST be Christmas!

Because, gifts!

Cute plaid "Boulderneigh Boys" bandanas for the dogs (hard to see, I know), part of my birthday gift from my sister:

Dogwood-leaf hearts waiting for me in a retail parking lot:

Happy, hoppy sheepy girls:

Wee sheep cross-stitched on a magnet by a blogpal just for me, which happens to look just perfect on the punched-tin door of our antique pie safe:

Treasures in the woods:

A lovely evening sky:

The anniversary gift that keeps on giving:

Half the hens contributing in one day – during their off-season! (Sitting amidst the acorn caps awaiting their woolly acorns.)

A box full of surprises from another blogpal!

And a husband who has been faithfully exercising and eating mindfully all week.

It's Christmas in my heart already at . . .

Three!

"On the 12th day of December, the third post came to me.
With time to just sit and 'be'!"

today's sunrise

Today I finally got a whole day at home to get some things done. At the top of the 'time-sensitive' list: write our Christmas letter. Thoughts of what I wanted to share from the year have been percolating in my head, but Rick's health crisis put everything – including a family update – on 'pause.' Now that he's stable, I felt comfortable proceeding so I can get our Christmas cards out. I want to mail them tomorrow when I go to the office job – but first, a blog post!

Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity and photo fodder. On Sabbath Brian's handbell choir played at another church, followed by a potluck there. Then we drove out to Silver Falls State Park, where the bell choir had been invited to play in a Christmas Festival. It was foggy when we arrived, and I got excited about the photographic possibilities of shooting South Falls (the only one I could get to in the attire I was wearing) in those conditions. We walked through the woods and past some of the buildings where Christmas crafts were being staged for the public until we got to the viewing area, but the falls was barely visible.

But while awaiting the bell choir's turn at performing, the sun broke through the fog and trees just enough to give me some spectacular shots!

The musical groups played in a big, heated, circus-type tent with holiday decorations and more craft stations around the edges. I didn't notice until after shooting these that the tent's red and white stripes were festively reflected in the bells!

Sunday was a long slog of travel and events. We left early to drive an hour and a half north to our Christian trailriders' Christmas party, then the hour and a half back to McMinnville where I caught the tail end of my former co-worker's memorial service while my guys headed home, then I drove 30 minutes out to my local dressage chapter's Christmas party. It was good to see friends, but after 12 hours I was ready to be home.

I knit this in just a few days (while waiting for Rick and doctors) for the first party's gift exchange,

and brought home this lovely antique salt shaker from the second party's gift exchange:

With more than half the turquoise skein left, I decided to knit another hat for my friend's daughter for Christmas. Her owls will have to have eyes, though. 😊

That's it for now from . . .

Grace

For Brian's birthday yesterday, Rick got two shiny new stents and a warning that his heart disease has progressed. 😏

The surgeon decided he wanted to keep Rick overnight, so I drove from the hospital to Brian's school by myself to watch Brian's first basketball game of the season. Last year I took homemade cupcakes for his team on his birthday; this year all I could deliver was myself. Brian was great about it all, though, texting me frequently through the day to check on his dad.

Want to guess what this morning's worship study just happened to be about? Forgiveness.

"Forgiveness is releasing another from our condemnation."

"However sorely they may have wounded us, we are not to cherish our grievances and sympathize with ourselves over our injuries, but as we hope to be pardoned for our offenses against God, so must we pardon those who have done evil to us. . . . When tempted to revile, send up a silent prayer that God will give you His grace, and keep the tongue in silence."

I was convicted of the need to forgive my husband, and ask forgiveness for any measure of "reviling" him I have indulged in, including here on my blog. And with that, the sky lit up and so did my heart.

Jackson made it clear he missed me. So before I left for another extended period this morning (to pick up Rick, more prescriptions, etc.) we snuggled:

Chuckie got his snuggle time tonight after chores:

When Rick got home this afternoon, he sat down on the floor and snuggled with Dozer. Now he (Dozer, not Rick) is snuggling with his own cute paws on his memory foam bed:

Our clear, cold spell has broken and it's raining. We're all under one roof again, and I am thankful.

Good-night from . . .

Looking up

Since I'm without a 'real' camera and distance is not the iPhone's forté, I'll have to describe this morning's fascinating skyscape. The eastern horizon is starting to glow a dull, faded red. The moon hangs low above the silhouette of firs, its full, round body visible, but only the barest sliver illuminated bright. Venus, now high in the southeast sky, has left her moon man; just two mornings ago she was practically in his arms.

Yesterday morning when I got up, the fire was struggling and the house was cool. I opened the damper and sat down on the hearth to benefit from the flames now gulping oxygen. Casting my eyes toward the windows, I noticed Venus and the moon separated by the star on our Christmas tree. I snapped a photo out of habit, not expecting a worthwhile result.

Surprises never cease! At least this was a good one....

Rick left Saturday afternoon for some meetings in San Francisco that started the next day. After driving him to the airport, I drove Brian to his school for their talent/variety show in which his bell choir played a number.

Afterwards we decided to try one of his teacher's favorite food treats, me not realizing that the bread pudding is served at a coffee house and bar. We had just enough time to order, eat (oh, it was amazing!), and snap each other's photos before time was up for minors in the establishment.

The next morning, Sunday, Rick called. He wasn't feeling well and was worried (ha – what an understatement) it was his heart. After countless calls throughout that day and the next, interspersed with calls to a doctor friend of his and also his cardiologist, he flew home Monday night, two days early. Yesterday we spent six hours in town, seeing his cardiologist, getting bloodwork done, visiting the pharmacy repeatedly until scrips were finally filled. He's been feeling pretty much back to normal since he woke up in his own bed (of course), but I am taking him to the regional cardiac center tomorrow – Brian's birthday – for an angiogram and probably another stent.

I'm trying to bite my tongue and be pleasant, but sympathy is beyond me. Rick's lifestyle set him up for a heart attack eight years ago, and he's done nothing of significance to better his chances of avoiding another one since then. (I'd like to think I would do everything in my power to LIVE for my loved ones if I were diagnosed with a lifestyle disease!) We have no financial reserves to weather this latest storm since Rick had to replace two expensive pieces of diagnostic equipment this year, so that's added stress.

But such is life during this crazy last month of a crazy year. (Oh yeah; happy December!) I am following a Leader that will not fail me; no matter what happens, He can use it for good. The friends – two- and four-legged – He has surrounded me with do much to share the load. (A shout out to my mental health mustang, the most loyal dog a woman could have, and the amazingly therapeutic effects of a warm, soft, purring kitty on one's lap.)

That's the short report from . . .