People

Wearing Armor

I’m not a big selfie-taker but I thought you might enjoy this. I visited the fourth grade class at WCA today, wearing mail and a knight’s helmet. The fourth grade studies medieval Europe and their teacher and I thought they would enjoy seeing real armor. The chain mail is actually pretty fine and was made for protecting divers from small sharks. It’s close enough for this purpose, though. The helmet, which is quite heavy, is more authentic and is pretty impressive. I don’t think I’d visit a fourth grade class without that sort of protection.

In addition to talking about knights and armor, I showed pictures of castles and told them about many of the design features. Most of the pictures were of English castles, because I know those so much better than those from France or the rest of Europe but there were a few in Germany and Hungary included. I think the kids enjoyed it and learned something. I know I had a good time.

Many thanks to Steve for letting me borrow his armor for this.

The Family At The Groaning Board

We gathered with family for Thanksgiving today. Thanksgiving is more than just a meal, of course, but the meal is certainly a part of the day. We did take a more traditional family picture, with everyone in nice, neat lines, but I thought I’d post this one, showing us ready to being the meal. I won’t bother to list everything we ate, but suffice it to say, there was plenty. We are truly blessed. But more than the food, of course, it was wonderful to be with family.

Cathy with Operation Christmas Child Boxes

Operation Christmas Child is one of Cathy’s favorite things of the season. We aren’t terribly good at planning way ahead but in this, she does a pretty good job. She shops at back-to-school time for pencils and crayons. Sometimes as early as January or February she will see something and say, “Operation Christmas Child” as she buys it.

A couple years we loaded boxes into our van from the school, filling the back of the van with the seats removed, delivering them to a local collection point. She is going to an OCC facility this week to volunteer. I can’t say exactly what she will do, because she hasn’t done that before. We’ve helped at a collection point but this will be the next step along the process.

This picture is of Cathy (obviously) with her two boxes for the year, as she dropped them off at Redland Baptist Church.

Cathy With a Colander

It was recently Cathy’s birthday and we had arranged to meet our friend (and Cathy’s friend since high school) Jean for dinner. Because she was coming from Virginia and because there was heavy traffic on the beltway (heavier than normal, even), we met a little later than we might ordinarily have done. Before meeting her, we took a small load of things to donate to Attic Treasures, the rummage sale at the Washington Christian Academy Christmas Bazaar, which is tomorrow (November 22). It’s a fundraiser for the senior class and is pretty well organized for a rummage sale.

We looked around at other things that had been given and sat chatting for a while on some nice, vintage, (and pink) motel chairs. Then Cathy decided she’s buy this colander to plant sedums in. Naturally I took her picture wearing it as a hat (or helmet, perhaps). I didn’t buy anything but the next day (tomorrow, at the sale itself) I bought three books.

Cathy and Jean

From the school we drove to Rockville and met Jean at Ruby Tuesday in Federal Plaza. We got there ahead of her (because the traffic on the beltway was worse than expected) and I did a quick shop at Trader Joe’s while Cathy bought a few things to fill out her Operation Christmas Child boxes. Then we had a delightful time with Jean. Because we live so far apart (and yet so close) we don’t see her anywhere near often enough. Naturally we stayed at our table much longer than we normally do, but we had missed the busy time and there were empty tables, no one was waiting for us to leave so they could eat. After we left, I took a couple pictures of Cathy and Jean outside in the cold.

Henry, Cathy, Brian, Lisa, Goldie, and Kippen

We had a treat yesterday and today. I got a call from our good friends, Brian and Lisa, who were driving from Georgia to Massachusetts and wanted to stop in to see us and spend the night. Brian came to our youth group with me, since I couldn’t very well get out of that at such short notice (I was teaching). Then we stayed up late talking. This picture was taken about four minutes after midnight, so it counts as a picture for today (I did take other pictures today but you don’t care). We were trying to get both dogs to look at the camera on its tripod but, as you can see, only had limited success.

Abbie

Dorothy was in D.C. yesterday stayed through the weekend. This evening she was going to spend the night with her friend, Abbie. Abbie works at Panera Bread (in case you were not able to figure it out from the picture) and had to work until closing this evening. We went there for a late dinner and then Dorothy stayed to wait for Abbie to get off work. I took a couple pictures of Abbie. They may not be great pictures but it’s hard, actually, to get a bad picture of Abbie.

Sokho

As many of you know, I have been the acting youth director (or is it student ministries director?) at church for almost exactly a year. It wasn’t something I had planned, but circumstances were such that I felt it was the right thing to do. I had been working with the youth (this is both middle school and high school aged kids) pretty much since the summer of 2011, when my good friend, Bill, asked me to take his place for a trip to Toronto, with Center for Student Missions. That reminds me, I really need to thank Bill again for that.

Anyway, from the start I was clear that I don’t feel equipped to run a youth program but that I was willing to be used. God spoke through Balaam’s ass (Numbers 22:28) so I knew he could speak even through me. Nevertheless, when Jeff told me that he wanted to hire Sokho as an associate pastor and that he would lead the youth ministry, I was quite pleased. I’m so thankful for this young man and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.

Crazy Cat Lady and Eve

We went to a Day of the Dead party this evening at the home of one of Cathy’s soccer teammates. This picture is of Cathy with our hostess. Cathy, as you can see, was dressed as a crazy cat lady. Ara was Eve (played by Tilda Swinton) from Only Lovers Left Alive. I was dressed as a chef, complete with a length of blood sausage in my jacket pocket (because, I mean, blood sausage).

The best costumes we thought were the best were the samurai and ninja couple but a lot were very clever and a few were seriously elaborate. I’ve never really been crazy about costume parties but that’s almost certainly because I have such a hard time coming up with any good ideas for a costume. Being able to put something on an hour before leaving and having it work is about all I can hope for. That worked this evening, but a little planning ahead could go a long way. I already have been thinking about what I might do for a future party. Now if I can only get the work done ahead of time, so it’s ready when the next party comes…

Dorothy and The Interns

I suppose that title sounds a bit like a singing group from the fifties. It’s also a little off because Dorothy is actually one of the interns. Also, the eighth intern isn’t in the picture. That’s life (”that’s what all the people say”). We crawled down I-95 to Richmond this evening and dropped Dorothy off. We had a nice dinner in a little place called Tarrent’s and came back to her apartment just as the rest were coming back, as well. So, we got to say hello and I got to take a few pictures before we got back on the road. Coming home was much easier and we made the trip in about two and a quarter hours, including a stop for gas. We only had to slow briefly for two areas of construction and for some rain the second half of the drive.

Photo Booth For Stacy and Bryan’s Wedding

I’ve already posted a few pictures to Instagram and Facebook of Stacy and Bryan’s wedding but now that I’m getting caught up on my blog, I’m posting one more. This one is of them after the ceremony and just before the reception really got going. Stacy had asked me if I’d be willing to set up and man a photo booth at the reception. This is what I came up with. I got the idea from Dorothy’s high school art teacher but built it to my own design. It’s not everything I could have hoped, but I was basically pretty happy with it. The other guests at the wedding seemed to enjoy dressing up a bit with funny hats, masks, etc. and posing for pictures, so I guess it was a success. If you would like to borrow it for a wedding or other event, let me know.

Dorothy and Hannah

We drove down to Richmond to get Dorothy today (or maybe I should say we crawled down, because it was about three and a half hours each way). Shortly after we got back, Hannah came over. She happened to be here on her fall break, so we were fortunate enough to have her for the evening. The girls let me take a few “normal” pictures (of which this is one), although we took a fair number of not-so-normal pictures, as well. I’ll let the girls post any of those that they want to share.

Elliot

We were sitting behind Elliot and his brother and sister this morning in church. I think this picture speaks for itself, so I don’t have much to add except to say what a cute boy he is. I showed him the picture and got a bit smile, but of course, I couldn’t take a picture of him while I was showing him this one.

Anna On The Tire Swing

I had a good night’s sleep even while sleeping on the ground. I often don’t sleep well the first night anywhere other than my own bed, even on a reasonably comfortable hotel bed. That means one night camping trips are generally a write off in the sleeping department. But I woke refreshed and enjoyed the cool morning. A few of the kids were up early fishing and I cleaned a cooked a reasonable sized bass along with the sausages and eggs. It was a relaxing day, variously spent fishing, watching the fire, eating, and enjoying the tire swing. We raised it a bit by looping the rope over the branch, because any but the smallest riders made it hit the ground.

Here is Anna, having a swing.

Nick, Katherine, Fiona, Anna, Grace, and Hannah

After work I headed up to Pennsylvania for another evening with a camp fire. This picture is of some of my fellow campers, cooking marshmallows, enjoying the fire, and each others’ company. It was a beautiful, cool evening with a warm fire. We really could not have asked for more. It’s been so busy at work that I was really looking forward to this time away and I must say that I was able to disconnect and rest, both physically and mentally for about 24 hours.

Dorothy

Shortly after I got home this evening, Dorothy went out into the back yard and cut some flowers. We have quite a few right now, particularly black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), Buddleia davidii, Verbena bonariensis. She was putting the flowers in a vase and stopped long enough for me to take a few pictures of her. I like this one.

She colored her hair today. She’s done that before, so it’s not a big deal, but this time the die was purple colored. Actually, with her darkish hair, it’s not really all that unnatural looking. Since I was expecting purple, I have to say that I like the way it turned out.

I’ve been looking at portraits lately. Generally we think of a person smiling at the camera as the right thing for a portrait. Many times, however, a relaxed expression, not frowning, but not actively smiling, can be very nice, as well. I like the expression in this portrait, as well as the soft lighting from the overcast sky.