BN and I took a few camping trips earlier in the summer. That was nice, to get away. I’m happy to announce that BN completed his PhD in Math from the U of O! I am very proud of him for sticking with it through thick and thin, mostly thin, and I’m excited to see what’s next for us. We are moving out of Student Housing week after next, to a place north of downtown but still close enough for bike rides to the market, library, etc. BN will be job-hunting, and then it’s pretty wide open where we could end up.

My sister GC came to visit us. She was here during BN’s big thesis defense presentation, so she joined us in celebrating by swimming, camping, whitewater rafting, and blueberry picking. That was a ton of fun.

Then we went camping in Lassen with my parents and my 4 youngest siblings.

One of the major highlights was hiking to the Mount Lassen Summit in time to see the sunrise.

We also rock climbed…

… played games, made music, swam in the lake, hiked around, and generally had a wonderful time.

I also got to catch up with JWS, my sister’s 10-month-old big boy. He’s grown a lot since we saw him at Christmas, he’s got teeth… but still no hair. I love his round blue eyes and the way he waves his hands around. What a charmer.

And Little Miss EAA, BN’s brother’s daughter, is a busy 14 months now. She is always on the move, with no time for baby toys. Dog dishes and toothbrushes are more her style. She is so cute and spunky!

We went to Hoyt Arboretum.

We saw a bunny, who reminded HN of her dear departed Toby.

We saw lovely moss-covered scenery and native wildflowers.

We had tacos for lunch and walked around downtown. We were amused at this dire warning to those who would ride their bikes over the streetcar tracks.

In the late afternoon we took the streetcar to see Cirque Du Soleil KOOZA!

It was an amazing show. After a yummy pasta dinner we made our way home to Eugene, looking forward to a whole week with HN.

Based on Otto by Ysolda Teague

After I decided to make a stuffed animal for the boy, I was reminded of how much fun my brother and I had as children, playing with our cherished stuffed animals. We would spend hours, each with our favorite “character,” pretending wild adventures in the backyard. I hope GJ has just as much fun with his puppy pal.

Ravelry link

He’s too young to be talking but he likes to communicate with his tongue. This means, Hi, Look at Me!

We witnessed an early experiment with feeding him rice cereal.

Christmas Eve had not a dull moment, with so many aunties

uncles

and even Mom to give him attention.

He was determined not to miss a single moment. In fact, he refused to take an evening nap (Why would Mommy and Daddy think I’d be able to sleep with a party going on downstairs?) But, he behaved very well for the most part, and stole the show in his starring role.

Lest you think that I didn’t take photos of anyone else unless they were holding JW, here are some other scenes from our Christmas Eve party (hosted by my brother and his wife in their lovely new home.)

I’m excited for next year – another nephew is on the way!

SS, super-creative crafty mama, gave GC a handmade owl pillow and and assortment of other sleepy-time themed goodies.

GC gave HN an awesome hi-tech camera, to fuel the passion of our budding photographer. It was quite a surprise because GC hid it inside of a large box.

Baby J got many presents, of course, from his adoring aunties and uncles. He especially liked the book about the lost mitten. It was delicious.

GC gave RC a jello fishbowl that she had made, with blue jello and gummy candy fish.

BN made a clever photo holder for HN. After shopping around Santa Cruz, he couldn’t find anything like what he was looking for so he decided to make it himself.

And… MA knit me an afghan!!!!!! Tears came to my eyes as I was opening it because as a knitter, I know that afghans are like the marathon of knitting. She drew my name last year in our exchange and she worked on it all year, for me. It’s beautiful – lofty, squishy, and warm. Definitely one of the most special gifts I’ve ever received.

I did quite a bit of knitting for Christmas gifts, myself. I knitted a February Lady Sweater for SS: (Ravelry Link)

A pair of socks for BN: (Ravelry Link)

And baby socks for the babies: My brother’s son, expected in February; JWS, currently the most-photographed-baby on my side of the family; and our little princess EAA (she hates socks, unfortunately.) (Ravelry Link)

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

High-fiving Uncle B

Taking Miss G. Beagle to the dog park

Going to Christmas in the Park (a San Jose tradition since the 1970s)

Drinking water out of Daddy’s glass

Exploring at Grandma’s – under the tree, the winter-wonderland singing centerpiece, and playing piano.

We also got to visit with some friends who are newly mutual – J&M met our friends M&A when they were in birth classes before the arrival of their daughters. E’s meeting with KGP got off to a bit of a rocky start but with some diplomacy on the part of their parents, they ended up getting along well.

Playing down by the lake:

Skating at NorthStar:

Some new snow fell on Friday, so we got to go sledding. There was a intense wind, and it had whipped the snow into carved and fibrous shapes.

Uncle D and cousin M came on various visits since then, but I hadn’t seen Aunt N or cousin A in 14 years! This year they all came to CA, including A’s husband and 3 year old son. At first it seemed that I wouldn’t be able to see them, since they were coming the week before our Thanksgiving traveling. But the stars (my job, our travel plans, and Amtrak) aligned and I got to go down to Redding and catch them while they were visiting my other uncle, aunt, and cousins.

I took the train. The only drawback (besides 9 hours in a moving vehicle) was that it arrived in Redding at 2 am. My Saint, I mean Aunt, picked me up at the station and I crawled into cousin M’s bed, just like old times when we were teens.

It was a great visit.

On Friday the ladies went Junkin.’ My Aunt N is a professional antique store treasure-hunter and her daughters are right up there with her. We browsed vintage lingerie and antique glassware and had a great time. That night we filled an entire section of high school gym bleachers to cheer for my cousin DR (my uncle’s namesake) in his basketball game/fundraiser night.

On Saturday we drove to Burney Falls. It was beautiful day, and a lovely drive, minus a bit of carsickness for the 3 of us girls in the back of the big rental van. My Uncle P was also with us, visiting from San Francisco, and it was fun to see the 3 brothers together.

On Saturday night Aunt M’s sister hosted all of us for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Apparently gracious hospitality runs in their family! It was a lovely party and it included a magic show provided by PW, cousin A’s husband.

I had such a great time, re-connecting with my cousins and meeting the added members of their bunch. It made me wish we all lived in the same city and could be together all the time.

What a great-looking family, huh?

After the Tennessee folks had departed, I stayed 3 more days with J & M and their kids. That was such a nice, relaxing visit. They have a beautiful home outside of Redding, with spreading oaks and horse ranches nearby. It’s soooooo quiet there. BN arrived on Tuesday night, and we drove to Tahoe on Wednesday morning.