PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/31/2008

This is the season of costumes and dressup, so check this out...

Coral goes to her day program Monday through Thursday, so yesterday she dressed up for the Halloween party they had. Guess who she went as....Right! Elmo! (Just like last year!!)

After much stretching and tugging, we managed to get those Elmo slippers over her shoes (the night before, after we took them off her for the night and she could not see what we were doing). She is a stickler about things always being the same, and she just can't stand anything but the feel of sturdy shoes. Plus, she needed to bear weight for transfers, and those slippers all by themselves just don't give enough support.
(Coral is real suspicious of the flash on the camera. It is just too much like lightning for her liking! She is not at all happy about me taking her picture!)

Coral cannot bear wearing a mask or even anything that feels like a hat. Trying to do so brings on a huge gag reflex, and that leads to ... well, you get the idea. So I took an old Elmo Halloween basket and cut Elmo's face off it and made a hair ornament.There is a hair elastic stitched on behind his eyes that went around the top of her ponytail, and then a little red hair clip on each side kept it anchored.

Since Coral puts her head back a lot, we weren't always sure if Elmo was coming or going!Big Elmo and his little talking Elmo friend are shocked to see Coral looking like them!
(Check out those matching fingernails!)

I think Coral forgave me for taking her pictures, because tonight she saw these pictures on my computer and was quite thrilled about it!

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/27/2008

My Silhouette Pictures

Someday I hope to find silhouette pictures that are just like the ones my mother had when I was little, but for now these are pretty close!

The silhouettes are painted on curved glass with a plain peachy-beige paper behind to make the figures show up well. There is a thin brass frame around the edge.

I don't know why I loved my mother's pictures so much. And what is more, I don't understand how she could have carefully packed those glass pictures and taken them half way around the world with her without some special reason... How can she not remember now that she ever had them? We are talking about a lady who remembers every detail of everything that ever happened to all of us, past and present, and who can put my memory to shame!
Maybe those pictures were just meant for my enjoyment!

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/25/2008

The Dining Room

Here is another picture from long ago... the dining room in our home in Liberia.
You can see the splotchy floor I mentioned once before.

Look at the mat ceiling! Even in this old picture, you can see the beautiful woven pattern. I would love to have one of those mats on my ceiling now...

Do you see those two little pictures on the wall? Those are the ones I have searched in the antique stores to find and which my mother does not remember that she had! But I remember them clearly, and here is the proof that they were not in my imagination! I have found some that are sort of like these, and I will show them to you next time.

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/22/2008

Barry and me on a walk in Eldorado Canyon
(Trent was with us, of course, and took the picture.)

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/20/2008

Coral watching TV with Elmo

We are starting to have much colder weather, and some days Coral's feet are so cold. I hate it when my feet are too cold, so I know this does not feel good to her. So Coral gets out of her wheelchair and into her recliner to get her feet up a little. Under all those blankets is a rice bag warmed up in the microwave. Even so, it takes a long time for those feet to warm up.
Elmo is always looking for a chance to jump into Coral's chair, and of course Coral loves it!

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/17/2008

More garden stuff...
This is how I make one of our favorite foods!

A box of collard greens sitting on my counter waiting for attention.


The center spines have been cut out, and several leaves are stacked ready to be rolled up for slicing.


Making thin slices...


Stir-frying the leaves with some seasoned hamburger...


Simmering with tomato sauce! Shall we have some with rice for supper?

And here's what I do with the leftovers...Now I am ready for some winter day when I just don't want to cook!

(I only showed you one pot, but I made two of them at the same time. That's why there are so many leftovers!)

PICTURE OF THE DAY - 10/12/2008

Coral with "The Boys"

Here she is, sitting next to me in my office. She was having so much fun that I had to take her picture! But she looks like this so much of the time that this is not a rare moment to show you but more of a glimpse of her personality and how you would probably find her if you dropped in for a visit.

Coral has with her "The Boys" who I have mentioned before...Kirk the long-legged fox, the bells, and Elmo. She is not entirely happy until she has them properly positioned and has her Big Elmo sitting somewhere nearby. Once everything is as it should be, she can think about other things!

She has more pure enjoyment of life bottled up in her than most people ever get to experience, and maybe it is because even the very little things get her attention!

PICTURE OF THE DAY - 10/09/2008

HUMBOLDT PEAK
Trent and Mike make it to the top!

Before sunrise and after sunset, the mountains can be a beautiful red color like this. It is called "Alpenglow." This is what they saw when they got up and started their climb....and this is the same mountain a little later after sunrise.
Starting the climb up...
There is light snow on the ground.
Mike is climbing up ahead...
...and here comes Trent.
Some of the climbing is more difficult...
Almost there...
"I MADE IT!"
I was so surprised when my phone rang shortly after noon on the day of the climb. I could see that it was Trent, and right away I was worried that something had happened. He was supposed to be up on the mountain! And he was! "My phone battery is almost dead," he told me. "I'm tired, but I made it!"

Looking out at other peaks...What an amazing view!
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power...
Psalm 65:5-6

(Thanks to Mike for the pictures of Trent!)

PICTURE OF THE DAY - 10/06/2008

I am waiting to see if I can get a picture of Trent at the top of Humboldt Peak to include in the last set of pictures about that adventure,
so in the meantime I thought you would like to see this...
...(or would you??)

This past Saturday, Trent and Brad (Mike's Dad) went to do a little mountain hiking. Guess where they were when this little fellow crossed their path? Bet you can't guess!
Yep! They were in "Rattlesnake Gulch!" I guess it is called that for a very good reason!
It was a bit chilly up there, and this rattlesnake never rattled to warn them. In fact, Trent said he nearly stepped on him. It's a good thing he was wearing hiking boots, if you ask me!

If you can get past all the snakiness of him, he has awfully pretty markings, don't you think?
(I used to help my brother Gord skin snakes in Liberia, so my opinion probably doesn't count!)

PICTURE OF THE DAY -- 10/04/2008

THE TRIP TO THE CAMPSITE...

Mike parked his truck, and they began the hike to where they would spend the night before climbing Humboldt Peak.

Look at the size of what Mike is carrying!

Sights along the way...
Here's the tent, complete with front porch......and the fire Trent got going so they could cook.And then it was lights out. (I heard that the tent kept the light snow away, Trent's sleeping bag was nice and warm, the air pillow was a great idea, but the ground was VERY hard!)

And here is where they are headed in the morning!

PICTURE OF THE DAY - 10/03/2008

Trent has been doing some mountain hiking which has turned into backpacking now, and he is really enjoying it. The next few days will be pictures Trent took when he and his friend Mike were climbing Humboldt Peak in the Sangro de Cristo Range in Southern Colorado last weekend. Humboldt Peak is a "14er," over 14,000 feet above sea level.

This is something I am simply not brave enough to do, but I am so proud of Trent for taking up such a wonderful activity and for the way he appreciates the outdoors and the scenic beauty. He takes gobs of pictures, so that means that I can enjoy a bit of what these places look like, although I know there is nothing like actually being there.

Trent and Mike had a rather long drive in Mike's truck just to get to the Sangro de Cristo Range (about 5 hours, if I have it right). Here are some things they saw as they were driving to the spot where they would camp overnight...

Next time: GETTING TO THE CAMPSITE...

Morning Coffee

My friend Renae has a wonderful devotional blog that I have been enjoying for quite awhile. A few weeks ago, she invited me to be one of several guest writers on her blog, and my first devotional is there today. I would love to have you visit her and read it! Click below to visit her (and me!)

Morning Coffee

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