Two and Two Half Poster Bed

This is one of the posts from our bed. I wanted to replace it with new, shorter finials.

We purchased the finials online, but didn't know how to finish them to match the bed. I went to Home Depot where the girl recommended stain. This, obviously was a bad idea.

I went back to Home Depot and purchased paint. We were unable to color match, so I just found a chip sample that seemed close. I was very pleased with the result.

On a third trip to Home Depot I purchased glaze and added brown paint to it.

And, voila! A perfect match. I was so pleased with myself!

All this was because we had moved the TV to a wall where the posts interfered with viewing! We're happy with our new two and two half poster bed!

The Christmas Visitor Book Review

I love hosting events at our house during the holidays. It was fun setting a festive table for book club last night.

I tried out a new recipe from my neighbor, Rebecca--an Ethiopian chicken dish called Doro Wat. Don't tell the book club ladies, but it called for TWO sticks of butter! It was a little spicy for Suzanne, but I'm excited about eating the leftovers for the rest of the week!

Although not everyone enjoyed the book, The Christmas Visitor, as much as I did, we all agreed that it had a nice Christmas message about forgiveness and hope. It is not every murder mystery that is able to slip in a slightly spiritual theme! Good job, Anne Perry!

For our review, see: http://bookitsisters.com/the-christmas-visitor/

Santa and Christmas Party

Santa came to our house yesterday. We invited the kids from church and had a good turnout despite the short notice (four days). After everyone left, Reagan took a family photo for the Bushes. Coda is such a good poser. Santa looks happy!

It was fun getting Coda to sit still to get her picture taken with glasses. I wonder what she is thinking?

The Ward Christmas party was a trip to Bethlehem. Ed wrote my favorite word in Hebrew: Hope. It looks like this:  לְקַווֹת.

After a lovely ham and potatoes dinner we had the nativity. Ed did a great job as the narrator, and the star of the show was a live baby Jesus, who didn't cry though the whole program!

Brusha, Brusha, Brusha and a Christmas Train

Ed has been brushing Coda's teeth regularly for several months. They are starting to look much better, and she has fresher breath than ever! She loves to lick the toothpaste off when he is done.

He has also taught Coda a cute trick--how to get her dental treat out of the Christmas train without derailing it.







Here's a video to prove it!

Pearlies Gig at Senior Center

Yesterday was the Pearl Strings gig at the Senior Center. Reagan took our pictuers with her selfie stick. It is way more fun than one would realize.

The view from above is everyone's best angle!

We warmed up in the conference room. I like this view of Helen with both her violin and her viola. She had to switch on lot in this set!

Rockwell is learning music at a young age. He's thinking, "Oh, so that's how you tune a guitar, mom!"

June was rock solid on not only her singing, but also her jingle bells!

Jen pulled off a cool jazz clarinet part for Santa Baby.

I was happy that my Stammtisch friends came to hear us. Other than starting out one song in the wrong key (no capo), I didn't embarrass myself too much!

We did some simple choreography on Deck the Halls and felt very clever! This is what we call a guitar "dip."

We rewarded ourselves with lunch at Panera where we talked about how much fun we're having--a lot!

Letzte Klasse

I had my last class in the German Writing course today. We ended with an oral presentation on the short stories we read. I read one called Das Schilfrohr (The Reed) by Anna Seghers.

It was a good story and I had fun re-telling it with stick figures. I learned a lot in the class and enjoyed it very much. Dr. Esa is a great teacher.

Afterwards my four college friends posed for a picture with me outside the classroom. I plan on seeing them again at the end of January when we start the German Translating class. In the meantime, I'm FREE!

Stammtisch Weihnachtsfest

The German Stammtisch met yesterday to celebrate Weihnachten. We sang Christmas songs in German. Some of them pointed out the typing errors in the book I put together. It turns out that while typos are no big deal in English, they make our weak German even more difficult to understand!

Gudrun brought the hot drinks and everyone chipped in with some snack foods. I had a taste of everything including the Katzenzungen (cat's tongues). I may have developed a taste for little apricot flavored white chocolate balls! Mmmm..