Category: Celebrations

• More on that Reflection in the Mirror – and in the Photo

  In last week’s blog post I wrote about Floey’s reaction to seeing her reflection, and I changed the words of a familiar old song to “How Mean is that Doggie in the Mirror?” Then, personalizing it, I rewrote the simple lyrics again with the words “How Kind is that Person in the Mirror?” This week…

  Marian

  January 27, 2015

  Celebrations, Reflections

  Abbey, anniversary, anniversary card, birthday, Blessing Ceremony, church directory, family, family forever, family pictures, February 1, Floey, forever family, God’s love, January 24, kindness, legal wedding, long-haired people, love your neighbor, Maia, Megabyte, Mim, mirror, mirrors that reflect our history, photo, photo log, really married, reflection in pictures, reflection in the mirror, reflection in the photo, reflections, spirituality, spousal rights, talking with God

• The Best Family Tradition of All – Baking Christmas Cookies!

  For the month of December, Joan Chittister has been focusing on the role of traditions in our lives in her pamphlet, The Monastic Way. On December 11 she said: Traditions are meant to develop us emotionally, one layer of understanding at a time. It is our traditions – the Easter eggs, the Christmas trees –…

  Marian

  December 16, 2014

  Celebrations, Christmas, God’s Love, Reflections

  Berliner Kranzer, center of our souls, Christmas cookies, Christmas tradition, cookie cutouts, family tradition, gingerbread cookies, God’s love, God-given gifts, Joan Chittister, Kringla, krumkake, listening for God, love your neighbor, mixed marriage, peppernuts, reflections, spirituality, sugar cookies, talking with God, tradition

• Living inside a Broadway Musical

  Last weekend was like living inside a Broadway musical – like “The Sound of Music.” Life wasn’t an opera – our conversations were spoken, not sung – but the whole weekend seemed to flow from one musical moment to the next. It’s almost like we were taking the message of the Psalms – to sing…

  Marian

  December 9, 2014

  Celebrations, Christmas, God’s Love, Music, Reflections

  Advent candles, Away in a manger, Beverly Taylor, Broadway musical, Christmas Carol Sing, Christmas Carol Sing-along, Christmas Carols, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, God’s love, Hallelujah Chorus, Hutchison, hymn sing, I thank you Lord for each new day, Joy to the World, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah, Madison Symphony Choir, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Christmas concert, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, Messiah Lutheran Church, Monona Senior Choir, Mt. Zion Gospel Choir, music, O Come All Ye Faithful, Overture Center organ, Overture Hall, reflections, Sam Hutchison, Silent Night, sing praises, Sing to the Lord, sing with the angels, sing-along, spirituality, The First Nowell, The Sound of Music, Winter Underwear, Winter Wonderland

• Bucket List for Advent

  The best thing about Facebook is that it has provided a means to reconnect with several people from my past. One of those connections is Claudia, an old friend from my freshman year in college. I haven’t seen her in almost 50 years. Our only communication had been Christmas cards, until we somehow found each…

  Marian

  December 2, 2014

  Celebrations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Advent, Advent bucket list, bucket list, Bucket List for Advent, Casita Copan, chain of blessing, christmas, Christmas cookies, Facebook, Floey, Giving Tuesday, God’s love, kindness, listening for God, love your neighbor, red kettle, reflections, Salvation Army, spirituality, waiting

• Abbey Still Has More to Say

  In my imagination, Abbey has been talking to me over the last couple weeks. Her spirit is still very much alive. “Mom,” she said, “I was really sad to leave you, and I still think about you a lot. But I’ve also been really busy exploring heaven. You can’t imagine all the smells there are…

  Marian

  November 25, 2014

  Assisted Living, Celebrations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Abbey, Animal Rescue and Vet Support Services, ARVSS, assisted living, blogging, caregiver, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, dog adoption, dogification of love, Floey, Florence Nightingale, God’s love, Help Wanted, imagination, kindness, life changes, love your neighbor, loving companion, personification of love, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, thankful, Thanksgiving, working dog

• Lobster Fest Wisconsin Style

  Forty-three years ago I ate my first lobster. I had just completed my first year as a high school English teacher in Plainfield, Connecticut. The kids were done with school, but the teachers were required to show up one more day to grade final exams and turn in semester grades. None of us teachers really…

  Marian

  August 19, 2014

  Assisted Living, Celebrations, Music, Reflections

  Adventures in Hospitality, blueberry buckle, Connecticut, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, English teacher, friends, God’s love, God-given gifts, Home Ec teacher, hospitality, how to eat lobster, joy, kindness, lobster, lobster boil, lobster feast, Lobster Fest, Lobster Fest Wisconsin Style, love your neighbor, Margaret and Don, mussels, ocean song, Plainfield, Puff the Magic Dragon, reflections, spirituality, steamed lobster

• “Family”

  About 40 years ago, I went “home” with Mim for the first time. We drove from Chicago to Kenyon, Minnesota, at least a seven-hour drive, the first weekend in December. In Kenyon, we picked up Mim’s mom, Selma, and drove another 15 miles to go to the St. Olaf College Christmas concert. Mim’s mom, who…

  Marian

  July 29, 2014

  Celebrations, God’s Love, Reflections, Reunions

  125th anniversary, 150th anniversary, Bill Gaither, branch of God’s family, childhood church, church family, church of my childhood, country church, family, family church, family of God, family reunion, friends, God’s family, God’s love, Gol, Gol Lutheran Church, home church, immigrated from Norway, Kenyon Minnesota, kindness, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Messiah Lutheran Church, Otto Jacobson, Philip Yancey, reflections, Resurrection Lutheran Church, retreats, Selma Jacobson, sesquicentennial, spirituality, St. Olaf College, Willerup United Methodist Church

• Red and White Images and a Little Black Book

  Yesterday morning, I decided to take out my mom’s little black book – the one where she wrote the Bible verses she memorized, week by week, when she was in high school. I looked up the verse for May 28, 1922. I wondered if she might have chosen a verse to memorize that would relate…

  Marian

  May 27, 2014

  Celebrations, God’s Love, Reflections

  1922, Bible verse, Chesterton, Decoration Day, Eugene H. Peterson, Eugene Peterson, Gilbert K. Chesterton, God’s love, Introduction to Isaiah, Isaiah, listening for God, little black book, Memorial Day, memorize, mom, red, red and white, red and white images, red wheelbarrow, reflections, scarlet, scarlet sins, sins be as scarlet, spirituality, stars and stripes, talking with God, The Message, watercolors and melodies, white, white as snow, white chickens, William Carlos Williams

• My Grade on Giving up Hurry for Lent

  On Easter Abbey spent about an hour out on our deck, watching two geese float back and forth on the pond. She said to me, “Mom, did you notice that two of our geese have finally come back home? Two years ago they were here at the beginning of Lent. This year they didn’t come…

  Marian

  April 22, 2014

  Book Recommendations, Celebrations, God’s Love, Lent, Music, Reflections, Spring

  Abbey, Alan Fadling, An Unhurried Life, bonfire, Easter, Easter hymn, Easter Vigil, Edward Hays, Exultet, geese, giving up hurry for Lent, God’s love, hidden joys, hurry, hurrying, Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Jesus’ rhythms of work and rest, Lent, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, Messiah Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, nature, pillars of fire, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, The Good Samaritan

• Let the birthdays begin!

  Let the birthdays begin! Anna, the first of our trio of 92-year-olds, celebrated her 93rd birthday on Sunday. I asked her how she felt about turning 93. Her response: “I don’t feel like I’m that old. It’s just a number. It doesn’t mean anything. Life is good.” Carolyn will turn 93 in June, and Marty…

  Marian

  February 25, 2014

  Assisted Living, Celebrations, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  92-year-olds, 93rd birthday, Anna, art of living, assisted living, birthday, birthdays, colored pencils, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Daisaku Ikeda, day care, East Madison Monona Coalition on Aging, EMMCA, friends, Herman Melville, journey to wisdom, kindness, know how to grow old, let the birthdays begin, life calling, life changes, master work of wisdom, Reaching Out Respite, reflections, spirituality, wisdom