Visiting Yuri

On Monday, October 18th, Janice and I made a one-day visit to Seattle to see Yuri and everybody else interested in seeing Yuri.  He has two teeth which are just visible when he smiles, which is often.  Turning over is no problem, nor is scooting if he has something he can use for pushing off with his legs.  He likes to be held looking outward rather than over a shoulder, which suggests a real interest in observing the action.  Alyssa was at work all day and Bill had an appointment so Paul, Kay and we got him to ourselves for a bit.  With all the activity, getting him to take a nap was out of the question.

I like this shot because it shows both Janice and Yuri are responding to the same person in the same way, even if he does not understand what is being said.  You cannot train a child to respond like this!

Quite of bit of time centers on food, partly because he is growing so well.

Yuri singing.

New pocket camera for daily activities

I finally got a small pocket camera (Canon S95) which I try to have in my pocket before leaving the house.  I have wanted to carry something light for years but . . . .  I took the plunge a week ago Friday and am enjoying using it casually.  This is the first picture I took, something quiet, our (unusually clean) dining room table at night.  Our furniture was designed for a rather more grand home, so we cannot center the table with the ceiling lamp I made (close enough, eh?)

Another evening, the dining room table set for Sunday breakfast, my booklet of prayers and readings for Canadian Thanksgiving is ready to be reviewed during breakfast (I designed and was in charge of the service).

One of my dreams was to have a pocket camera with me whenever I golf.  Not all moments have that certain magic, believe me, but some of our early morning fog scenes can be beautiful.  Finding errant white golf balls in this heavy dew can be difficult.

This is the second fairway at the University Golf Course (which, strangely enough, is neither owned nor operated by the University).  It is difficult to see from the tee box, but the mist rising on the left is coming from a pond, the lowest point on the course.  Long ago, I lost track of the number of balls I have contributed to this stupid pond, sadly, some were on my second shot.  Because of its length, this par 4 is the hardest hole on the course.

I'm into food, particularly when prepared by someone else.  This shows my sandwich last Sunday noon at a small restaurant near church.  We were with three church friends.  The sandwich was so large that I saved half of it for golf on Monday.  Janice, being far more astute on such matters, wisely selected a salad.

We remodeled  the kitchen about 18 (?) years ago.  These south-facing windows give us pleasure every single day we are in Vancouver.  The faucet looks innocent enough, but it required three trips to the store before I could figure out how to install it.  The first time, I inserted an internal washer backwards and nobody could extract the plug, so I had to get a second new faucet.  Being German made, it carried a lifetime guarantee, which the store ever so kindly honoured, even when I had made the mistake.  Three cheers for Groehe!

My favourite photography teacher advised me to get some of my things printed and hang them, so that I would be forced to face my work daily (rather than fleetingly on a screen) and determine what needs to be improved and what seems to have lasting value.  Being lazy, I just prop them up against the wall.  Seems to work, and Janice thankfully decided decades ago that one does not stay married by nagging.

This is the saddest picture I hope I will be taking for some time to come.  These three sorry specimens represent our Entire Apple Crop this year--two tree's worth.  In the good ol' days, we used to freeze enough applesauce to satisfy a family of four for two meals weekly, plus have apples daily for four packed lunches for perhaps three months.  This year, even the sole large apple was hopelessly tart, but we decided to pick it before the squirrels or blue jays started to feast on it. 

Vancouver Garden in the Fall

The color scheme in the Vancouver garden is now soft shades of pink and lavender. It's always a surprise to see the delicate Colchicum (sometimes called fall crocus) emerge, leafless, out of the soil. Four days later, its flowers are wide open. The small size of the plant can be imagined by comparing it to the greenery of the creeping thyme groundcover.


It's Michaelmas daisy time! These particular plants are 5 feet tall, but I have shorter ones too.
Blowing in the breezes in the back yard are the Japanese anemones, with a Rose of Sharon to the left of the photo. After I saw a blooming Rose of Sharon in front of Mark and Amy's Brooklyn home one summer many years ago, I had to buy one. This led to buying two more.

Now to the edibles...the raccoons are usually the lucky ones to eat the grapes though. The vine looks lush because the vine trimmer (JEK) is ignoring the branches crawling in the eaves, getting entangled in the camellia bush, and invading the neighbor's property. An advantage of not trimming is that it keeps the deck and SW corner of the house cool.
You're lucky that I'm including only one zucchini blossom.

This year for the first time, I have several delicata squash plants. I even got a non-squash eater to eat this.

The tomato patch is limited to 6 cherry tomato plants, growing right up against the south side of the house under the over-hang to try to avoid the blight which arrives with the damper weather. This plot is no rival for Mark and Amy's, and the irrigation system is a far cry from theirs.

And now for a true-life photo, the kind you wouldn't see in a gardening magazine. Pots of basil, a geranium that doesn't want to flower, two pots of Swiss chard that I plan to nestle up to the house when the tomatoes are finished to see if it will winter over, shallots in a pot, parsley and marjoram going to seed, sorrel that planted itself, a squash plant with a total of one fruit, and a few other miscellaneous plants.

Closing with the tallest hollyhock ever!

Remembering Aunt Marjorie

Last week family members gathered in Goshen to remember Aunt Marjorie, Mother's sister. Of the nine siblings, only Uncle Milo and Mother now remain, both residing in Greencroft's Assisted Living.

Aunt Marjorie passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in the best way possible--without pain, yet surrounded by family and friends during the dinner celebrating her great grandson's wedding!   We all consider this to have been a wonderful gift to her, since it was soon going to be necessary for her to give up independent living. [I took these photos with my little G9 point-n-shoot, no flash, mostly so that brother Mark, cousin Sandra and others can get a sense of what the family experienced and enjoyed.  You can click on photos to enlarge them slightly.]

On Thursday morning, I visited Mother  before the two of us had lunch with one of her table mates.  She had a computer question, and (wonder of wonders) I was able to solve it.  We all are so proud--as was Dad--that she has learned how to use a computer so late in life.  I was especially thankful that Bill had set up a printer for her because this allowed me to print my boarding pass Saturday morning before my return flight.

The viewing at Yoder-Culp was in the afternoon and early evening.  Lots of relatives, even some of Marjorie's daughters' co-workers, etc.  It was a peaceful wake, alternating between tears and laughter, and sense of loss and the joy of being together again with loved ones.

Uncle Milo, Mother's sole surviving sibling, and his friend Ruth.

Mother, her nephew Roland and Violet from Illinois

That evening we Kreiders ate together (Paul, Kay, Bruce, Charlotte, Kristin and Grandma) in a Mexican restaurant, a mini reunion.  About an hour later, Frank pulled in after having left work early and driving several hours. so some of us joined him for the evening visitation.  After more visiting in Mother's apartment, we let her turn in while we took Frank to Constant Spring to get a late supper.  I always enjoy looking at the old pressed tin ceiling.

We gathered Friday morning at about 9:30 (Marjorie's family had time alone before that) for prayers and the reading of scriptures before driving in procession for the burial. 

It was good to see all approaching cars on the highway pull over and stop, showing silent respect to the deceased.  This custom reminded me of that in Europe, when people used to stop what they were doing and men would remove their hats while the mourners slowly walked to the cemetery.  The internment was in Violett Cemetery, near where we grew up on the outskirts of Goshen.

We then went to the North Goshen Mennonite Church for the Memorial Service at 11:00 a.m.  The family gathered in the Fellowship Hall before processing into the sanctuary.

I felt it was inappropriate to take photos during the service, and was certainly not positioned for shooting, but I really wanted just one photo showing Shelby's granddaughter, Hilary, reading a tribute, and now wish I had photos of Kimberly singing "Amazing Grace", Cal leading the singing, etc.

After the service, the pastor invited family and all the guests to a lunch which was generously prepared by the congregation's volunteers (plus a jello dessert).

 A number of people paid tributes to Marjorie, but at my age, I remember few names.  I believe this next photo shows Shelby introducing her grandson and new wife of one week.  I was so glad they could be present.

Cal served as song leader in the Memorial Service and as Master of Ceremonies at the dinner's reception.  His wife, Ardys, spoke (as did many other people, but I did not think to take photos until the stories were already well underway, so I missed recording quite a few important contributions).

Mother (Marjorie's youngest sister) recalled stories from their days on the farm, high school and beyond.

Bruce told of the kindness he received from Aunt Marjorie and cousins when they looked after him while Paul was deathly ill.  Ever since those days, Bruce has felt a very special connection with Milton and Marjorie's family.

Paul told of a recent phone call he enjoyed with Aunt Marjorie, who wished to thank him for another of his excellent loaves of bread.

Cousin David always speaks well, reminding me of his father.

Mary Alice also shared stories, reminding us that her mother (Fern) and Marjorie had been very close sisters in childhood and adulthood.

Sandra and Gilbert were visiting their daughter's family in England, so they were understandably absent.  Linda represented her side of the family.  She reminds me so much of Aunt Lois.

Ethel, one of Uncle Milton's sisters, was introduced by Cal to the guests.

That evening, we were all pretty well exhausted.  On a whim, we Kreiders decided, for old times sake, to have dinner at the Southside Soda Shop on Main Street, a favourite haunt over the decades.  I noticed the banner declaring Goshen High School as "Sectional Champs" (presumably in basketball) in 1942, the year I was born.

Paul and Kay were delighted to meet some friends they had known years ago, so they enjoyed seeing each others' sets of phone/camera photos.

After dinner, another visit--and again on Saturday morning.

Early Saturday morning (8:00 a.m. but 5:00 a.m. Vancouver time) Dan took me to the local Farmers' Market where his brother's family sells their excellent produce.  Dan and Anne will soon be heading off to India.

Everybody left Goshen at different times.  Frank had to return to work right after the internment, Paul and Kay left before lunch on Saturday, and Bruce, Charlotte and Kristin left immediately after lunch with Mother at Greencroft.  Their drive takes two full days.  I returned to O'Hare Saturday afternoon, running into unbelievably heavy traffic, thanks to a Cubs game (and possibly Bears?)  I have been walking through this underground passageway at O'Hare for 35 years, enjoying how the lights continually change as one goes from terminal B to terminal C.  This time I decided to stop and take a photo, using a pillar for a tripod so I could shoot a time exposure @ 1 second.

My final photo on this trip was taken through the window pane as Alaska Airlines began the 4.5 hr flight west to Seattle.  The sunset reminded me of the Lutheran prayer about life's final evening--and Aunt Marjorie's final evening.