Category: Holidays

Disembodied Sun Rises on Holy Week Wednesday

Risen Sun Floating Before the Clouds
Sunrise, Wednesday, 04/04/2012

Strange optical illusion shortly after the sun rose today.  The sun appeared to float before the clouds on the eastern horizon (see photo above).  This next photo has slightly better colors:

Sun

This will be my last post until after Easter (except for the already scheduled ‘Remembering Roxy’ post which will magically appear early Friday morning).

I will leave you with a prayer for today, Wednesday of Holy Week (Year B):

Creator of the universe,
you made the world in beauty,
and restore all things in glory
through the victory of Jesus Christ.

We pray that, wherever your image is still disfigured
by poverty, sickness, selfishness, war, and greed,
the new creation in Jesus Christ may appear
in justice, love, and peace,
to the glory of your name.

Amen.

Initiate Insightful Intuition

As I pulled into the Hallmark Corporate circular driveway, I realized, with some dismay, that the Mayor’s Christmas Tree had disappeared from it’s featured spot at Crown Center.  And as I walked one of the rider’s to the lobby entrance, the two Christmas Trees that had graced the corporate lobby were also missing.  Another Christmas season packed away.  No more twinkling lights on trees or houses.  No more hopeful, joyful carols on the radio nor piped through the overhead speakers at the grocery store.  I felt deflated.

At least Hallmark waited until the official end of Christmas.  Yesterday marked the twelfth day and today is traditionally celebrated as Epiphany.  On January 6th, we celebrate Epiphany as a Christian feast day commemorating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Western Christians observe principally (but not solely) the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.

The Revised Common Lectionary for today, the Epiphany of the Lord (Year B), suggests reading Matthew 2:-12 for the Biblical narrative of the Three Wise Men:

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRS)

Other definitions of epiphany include:

  • an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.
  • a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
  • a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

“epiphany.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 06 Jan. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epiphany>.

So here I sit, disillusioned by the passing of another Christmas season.  I know that when I get home tonight, I need to pack away the Christmas decorations and dismantle the Christmas tree, storing both in the basement storage room.

Yet I am trying to initiate some enthusiasm for this new year.  I continue to persevere in my quest for living healthier.  Five days and counting now.  It helps that everyone else in the family (including the dogs) has joined me in my Wii Fit adventure.

What I’m truly looking forward to won’t happen for nearly half a year.  Rachelle will graduate from college in late May (or early June).  Sometime between now and then, she’ll give her senior recital, which I plan to attend (in person instead of via live streaming).

Terry’s right hand is progressing well.  The orthopedic surgeon saw him for a second followup visit this afternoon and prescribed some physical therapy and wants to see him again in six weeks.  We’re still ecstatic the biopsy came back negative last week for cancer.  Now begins the long grueling road to recovery and the welcome return of guitar riffs reverberating through the house.

I look forward to the ruckus with relish.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

I had trouble sleeping last night.  I stayed up too late watching the latest installment of Restaurant Impossible and then couldn’t get to sleep.  I think I finally dozed off after midnight, but that left me only five hours before the alarm woke me up.  I snoozed for ten minutes, even though I couldn’t afford to lose ten minutes out of my morning routine since Thursdays are also trash and recycle days in Lansing.  To top off a great start to my morning, I cut my finger on one of the cans in the recycle bin.  So now I’ll be typing awkwardly all day thanks to a bandage on my left ring finger.

The work commute got shortened by ten minutes or so this morning due to a sick child of one of the riders.  Before I hit the road and picked anyone up though, I made a stop at Baristas in Lansing to wake up with a mocha.  It would not be good form for me to doze off while driving everyone else to work.

Chef Rachelle fought my favorite appliance today (my bread machine) and won the battle to create pita dough. Her menu for this evening included gyros (lamb) with home made taziki sauce. Simply divine. Don’t tell the Wii I had two!

Soon after dinner, Terry and I went to City Hall to attend the City Council meeting (I will post a complete report in a separate post tomorrow). Agenda item number seven directly affected us (search for my previous post on the no parking zone sign installed last month on our court). We sat through a report on the Kansas Sampler Festival and the presentation of the regional airport site selection study by Coffman Associates. Interestingly, the ‘prime’ site suggested for the airport is on 600 acres just a half mile or mile south of our house, between Gilman and McIntire Roads.

When we finally got tothe parking agenda item, I was relieved to see a good bit of discussion and debate among the council members. Obviously, the voice of the citizens raised in thier wards had been heard loud and clear. The ordinace (No. 900) passed with two dissenting votes. The meeting quickly adjourned soon after and I asked the secretary to provide me with a copy of the ordinance, which would have been helpful to review before the meeting. She agreed to email me a copy.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

Second workday of the new year.  Gearing up for all the projects slated for 2012.  Busier (which makes the time go faster) and only one meeting (that went longer than scheduled, of course).  Basically, I survived another day at the office.

Hump day (also known as Wednesday) is also double-punch day at Planet Sub.  Since one of my New Year’s resolutions is a healthier lifestyle, I reviewed the Nutritional Information on their website before calling in my order.  While my second favorite sandwich (the Planet BBQ) had fewer calories than my first favorite sandwich (the Super Hero), it had gobs and gobs of sodium. So it was a toss-up between the Tuna (without mayo) and the Roast Beef (without mayo or cheese). The tuna won because it was the lowest in sodium.  Beautiful walk to and from Planet Sub thanks to the unseasonably warm weather we’re enjoying during this first week of January.

Even though Terry’s right hand is in a splint, WolfGuard will meet tonight to practice with the new drummer.  We decided to skip a home-cooked meal by Chef Rachelle in the interest of saving time.  We ate a quick supper at Mr. Goodcents (yeah, I know, two sandwich places in the same day).  I reviewed their Nutritional Information brochure and couldn’t find a single sandwich (besides the veggie one) that had less than 1,500 mg of sodium.  Way, way too high for my diet.  The lowest calorie and lowest sodium item that appealed to my appetite ended up being penne pasta with marinara.

On the way back home, we took a side-trip to Dillons to pickup a prescription for Terry and grab a few items.  We made it back home with plenty of time to spare before the band members started arriving.

As the band started rehearsing, I left to take Rachelle to visit some friends.  On the way home, I admired the constellation Orion, the waxing moon and enjoyed the unfrigid temperature.

Now that I’m back home, I can wrap up a couple of work projects while being serenaded (several times because practice makes perfect with a new percussionist) of vintage Rush (Finding My Way Home).  I’ve still got to squeeze in some cardio before slipping upstairs to read myself to sleep again.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  If it was a Friday or a Saturday night, I might be tempted to host a Twelfth Night party.  Instead, I’ll probably be attending the local city council meeting, since one of the agenda items tomorrow night deals with the recent appearance (and disappearance) of ‘no parking’ signs in several cul-de-sacs around Lansing (see my previous blog posts for further enlightenment).  I can only hope an Epiphany of policy is forthcoming.  (Feel free to chortle if you fathom my irony and/or sarcasm).

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

I did not have to drive the van today.  I thought I might need to, since Hallmark decided the Monday after New Year’s Day would NOT be a holiday (day off from work) for it’s employees.  But I spoke to my newest rider (a second Hallmark person) and she said she had already planned to drive herself to work today, so I got to sleep in (by about ten minutes, since I forgot to silence my alarm before falling asleep last night).  I brewed some tea and finished composing the previous blog post (the one I forgot to finish last night and publish before falling asleep).

I woke Rachelle up just before nine o’clock since she had an eye doctor’s appointment after ten o’clock.  On the way to Leavenworth, we detoured to Dillons so I could fill up the Bonneville, taking advantage of the eleven hundred points I earned in December.  I opted to use five hundred points to save fifty cents per gallon.  It still cost over $45 to fill it up (because I had waited too long and only fumes remained in the sixteen gallon tank).  While at Dillons, we picked up a half dozen items we needed to make brunch after the doctor’s appointment.

I read about half of the January 2012 edition of Astronomy magazine on my Nook Color while waiting for Rachelle to finish her eye doctor’s examination.  The prescription for her contact lenses wasn’t ready yet, so I told them to just mail it to me.  We stopped at Walgreen’s so I could get a second ‘backup’ arch bandage to help my left foot heel and arch pain, especially since I’m attempting to increase my physical activity.  We also stopped at K-mart to price other Wii game titles, but decided not to purchase anything at this time.

Back at home, Rachelle and I sifted through all of her jewelry boxes and separated out the jewelry she does not want.  Some of that may end up as donations to our local Good Will store.  We also stripped the pantry bare, wiped down the shelves and re-organized the contents.  We did this prior to our ‘real’ trip back to Dillons to stock up for the coming week.  Rachelle’s Christmas gift to her father included cooking meals for him over the next week or so.  Tonight she cooked Garlic Honey Chicken with Sauteed Asparagus.  My contribution included Parmesan Garlic Bread (made with the Italian bread I made last week).

I learned a couple of Yoga positions today, did a couple of strength training exercises and got better at the step aerobics programs via Wii Fit today.  Both Terry and Rachelle are also using it – Terry to help maintain his current weight and strengthen his muscles and balance.  Rachelle makes us all feel old, of course, since she’s twenty-two and in great shape.

Our after-dinner relaxation includes watching Ironclad, a movie about the aftermath following the signing of the Magna Carter.  Not sure how historically accurate it is, but it’s gritty enough.  I’ll review it in a separate post later this week.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

I wished everyone I met a very Happy New Year!  2012 has arrived, whether I was ready or not.  I even forgot to photograph the first sunrise, but at least according to my dad (who arrived at my house just minutes before said sunrise), the photogenicity of the dawn was suspect (i.e. no clouds).

Dad had dropped by so early on New Year’s Day to say goodby to Derek and Royna, who planned to return to North Texas.  I was the only one awake in the house (normal even on non-holiday days).  I woke Derek up so he could say goodbye to his grandfather and soon after Dad returned north to his home in Leavenworth.

Very much later in the morning, everyone finally woke and began packing.  At ten ’til noon, they boarded their rental and left Lansing.  They had lunch with their friends and eventually headed south towards their home.  I received Royna’s final Tweet a bit after ten o’clock while I was drifting off to sleep when they finally made it safely home.

I treated Terry to Planet Sub at a ‘new’ location I was previously unaware of on Johnson Drive.  He often complains about my easy access to Planet Sub (only a block from where I work).  After enjoying our Super Heroes, we drove back to the Legends (we passed it on the way to lunch) and enriched Nebraska Furniture Mart by purchasing a Wii (with Super Mario Kart for Terry) and the Wii Fit Plus bundle (and an extra controller) for me.  We spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the Wii and fighting my Denon AV receiver (which doesn’t automatically convert Composite video to HDMI so I had to find an RCA cable in the black hole we call a basement storage room).  I spent some time trying out the balance board only to discover, once Rachelle got home, that I had the board facing backwards (so no wonder all the balance activities kept failing for me).

We finally took a break from Wii Fit and sat down to relax and watch the latest episode of Leverage on TNT.  I wondered off to bed soon after, forgetting to finish typing up this blog entry that I started at the crack of dawn on New Year’s Day.  I will publish it before the crack of dawn today, no doubt.

My New Year’s Resolutions:

  • Increase my book reading goal.  Last year I read 75 books.  This year I have challenged myself to read 80 books.
  • Increase my activity level.
  • Healthier eating habits:  While I eat a good portion of vegetables routinely, I have a hard time consuming fresh fruit.  So I am making a concerted effort to eat fruit daily.

Happy New Year!

I pray 2012 brings all of us peace and prosperity.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

I slept in, until six o’clock.  That’s an hour longer than I usually laze around in bed.  I knew I had two things to get done before long after waking up.  The first involved the annual dissemination of sticky buns to friends.  I started two batches of dough going, one in the bread machine and one via the mixer, with about fifteen minutes to spare before the sun rose at twenty of eight.

Since I had over an hour to wait for the dough to rise, I grabbed my camera bag and tripod and ran for the van.  I drove a block to my south and setup on the grounds of the Lansing City Hall cul-de-sac.  I experimented with the aperture priority setting so I can attempt to get a star like effect when the sun rose.  I succeeded (see below) but also forgot I had accidentally smudged my lens with my fingers a couple of days ago and forgot to clean it.  So some of the later photos with more star-five effect had to be trashed thanks to smudgy fingerprints obscuring the sunlight.

IMGP2142
Last Sunrise of 2011

Click here for the slideshow of the rest of the photos.

I packed up the camera and gear as soon as the sun cleared the horizon.  I still had plenty of time before the dough needed to be rolled out and sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon.  I made a quick run to the grocery store to buy the disposable aluminum lidded cake pans I needed to place the sticky buns in for delivery to our friends.  Once I returned home, I woke up Rachelle, who helped make the caramel glaze to pour into the pans and evenly distribute the individual rolls among the six pans.  This year we only made about sixty rolls, instead of the usual hundred or hundred and twenty.  We covered them with the clear plastic lids and attached the storage and baking directions to them.  Rachelle and I then left to deliver the rolls.

Once we returned home, Derek and Royna had also arrived back from their overnight visit with their friends.  I suggested that Rachelle, Royna and I drive to downtown Leavenworth to sample some of the loose tea available from the Queen’s Pantry.   Royna found three she liked and Rachelle found one.  We walked across the street to the antique mall where Rachelle found some jewelry and I found a paperweight for a coworker.  Our last stop downtown was the Kansas Country Store where I tried to find some rawhide treats for the Rotts, but found a half-price Rottweiler 2012 calendar instead. I dropped Rachelle off at her friend’s house and Royna and I returned home to while away the afternoon watching movies.

We decided on Mexican for a family dinner out and traveled to Zona Rosa to revisit Aubelos.  Terry and I had tried that restaurant back in October for my birthday.  Derek and Royna had also tried and liked it previously.  I called ahead and reserved a table for the five of us.  I missed the sunset at five o’clock because I was busy getting ready to leave for dinner.  I did step outside briefly, but the sky was so clear and devoid of haze or clouds that the sunset would have been ‘boring’ for me to photograph.  The drive to Zona Rosa via K-5 and MO-152 was uneventful and our dinner was delicious (and fast).  We were back home before half past seven.  Rachelle donned her excessively ugly Christmas sweater and left to spend New Year’s Eve with her friends.  Derek and Royna will start packing and get some rest before hitting the road southbound for North Texas tomorrow morning.

And so I come to my final paragraph of my final blog post for 2011.  I believe we’ve had a good year.  We had a couple of milestones (25th wedding anniversary and 15th year at my employer).  We started renovating our house, replacing the roof and the driveway and repairing the chimney.  I’m keeping the miles down on both our cars by participating in a vanpool, which also helps reduce my carbon footprint by taking at least four other vehicles off the roadways five days a week.  We spent the holidays with our kids, always the highlight of our year.  I hope and pray 2012 will bring all of us peace and prosperity, harmony and grace.

Have a very Happy New Year!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

I received a welcome call from our family tax preparer.  He graciously answered all our questions concerning some last minute year-end tax savings we could take advantage of.  Terry and I discussed and weighed the pros and cons but ultimately decided to take advantage of the tax deduction to offset a one-time heavy tax load we will have to deal with for 2011.

The second even better phone call came in mid-afternoon from my hubby.  He had just received good news from his doctor at his follow-up appointment.  The biopsy results confirmed the growth in his hand was completely benign.  No cancer!  And no need for any drastic treatments to combat any further cancerous growths.   He will need to go through some extensive occupational therapy, since the orthopedic surgeon does NOT want him moving his fingers, hand or wrists at all for several weeks.

Thanks to God and everyone who offered prayers on behalf of Terry.  And thanks to Rachelle for driving him to his appointment today.

God is Good!  All the Time!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

I endured endless meetings all morning, but received a last-minute reprieve from my final early afternoon meeting.  A co-worker hand-delivered a belated Christmas gift from my favorite baking supply company (King Arthur Flour) to me when she arrived this morning, for which I thanked her.  I attempted to deal with a last-minute tax deduction question, still unanswered and unresolved with the end-of-the-year clock ticking inexorably on.  I even tortured myself by waiting more than thirty minutes on hold with the IRS before having to abandon that exercise in futility because of another incoming call.  I tried to schedule my daughter for an eye doctor’s appointment since she informed me at the airport she is on her last set of contacts, yet much to my surprise (not!) the eye doctor’s office is closed every Wednesday.   I did speak to my Internet service provider about moving up to the next tier of broadband service and will discuss my findings with my spouse this evening before ordering the upgrade.  I wrapped up my goals for the final quarter Health Enhancement Challenge at work and will strive to turn them into New Year’s resolutions.

I have no plans for this evening (or the rest of the week nights) so that my kids are free to visit their local friends.  Terry and I might watch a DVD my father lent us yesterday: Cowboys & Aliens.  Or we could continue cleaning off the DVR, which may be leaving us soon if we decide to drop DirecTV and move to Dish or just stick with Netflix (or some other provider’s) streaming.

I am thankful for the gift of the Four Gospels, often associated with the fourth day of Christmas.

On the Third Day of Christmas

I got the best gift of all . . . my family.  My daughter flew in from North Texas this morning.  My son and his wife arrived on Christmas Eve, so today I had all of them together, as well as my father.  We enjoyed dinner and then opened all of the presents.  The dogs got a treat as well, since both Derek and Rachelle got down on the floor and played with them.

But tomorrow I return to work (for the rest of the week) so Terry will get to enjoy their company exclusively.

Merry Christmas!