Helping Molly

We are adjusting to life without our irrepressible Millie, but Molly is having to adjust to the loss of Millie, too.

Molly and me driving to my house. She is NOT supposed to be on the console, but she was so excited to be coming for a visit that I didn't have the heart to tell her to get down. (Yes, I took a selfie while driving, but I was in my neighborhood with no traffic around.)

Like Millie, Molly is a rescue and came from a horrific situation. She spent four years as a breeder in a puppy mill and was rescued in December, 2017 when she came to live with us. It has been a long, hard road for her to get over her fears. I don't know what was done to her before she became ours, but I feel fiercely protective of her since so many things terrify her. She feels safe around Lisa, Craig, Pepper, and me, and she especially felt safe when Millie was by her side.

Molly on a walk with me in the park across from our house. She loves to go down by the lake.

This past week Lisa dropped her off at our house every day while she went to school so that Molly would not be alone all day. We do not think she would do well if she were left alone all day at home. At least not so soon after Millie's passing. 

I think she welcomed being around Pepper and us but it was clear she was missing Millie.

Go ahead and climb that console, sweet girl. I am so glad to see you happy and excited about something after such a rough month. We will help you get through this.

 

Christmas 2020: The Annual Gingerbread House Competition

The day after Christmas, the guys and all the kids spent the day at Curt's home while all the ladies gathered together at our home for the annual gingerbread house competition.

Sarah is heating up the frosting pack to help it go on more smoothly.

The kitchen island was absolutely covered in sprinkles, frostings, and candies!

Vanessa

Trinity

Emily

Early stages

Emily was brave to flip her house onto its side - I was afraid mine would break.

Trinity creating trees out of fondant.

Sarah made an unusual pattern for her roof. (It turned out really pretty.)

From left: Lisa's, Trinity's, Emily's, and mine.

Trin's had Santa stuck in the chimney and a dog in a dog house! And look at that ladder!

Lisa's got first place.

Emily's

Mine. (I was going with a Blue Christmas theme due to the pandemic, inspired by Jessica's Sarayevo theme a few years ago.)

 

Vanessa's looked so real, almost as though you could open that door and walk in.

 Sarah's from the back.

Sarah's from the front. Look at the topiary!

 Vanessa's other side.

Mine. It turned out that there were not a lot of blue things to use!

Emily's

Trinity's

Lisa's from the front. She won this year's contest.

A close up of Trinity's dog house.

Curt's kids also judged, just for fun. Lukie awarded first place to Aunt Sarah.

 

Ian gave me first place. (Why on earth?? But very sweet.)

And Mila thought Trinity's was the best.

We had so much fun making the gingerbread houses together, and I think that next year we will have a kids' division. Ian remembered that we'd had one two years ago and requested it. I will make sure that that happens.

Jack Martin - Advocating for Equity

My parents taught their children that all people were equal and to value other human beings. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts. I will forever be grateful for that - I would have missed out on so many wonderful friendships had I been brought up differently.

I'd have missed out on knowing one of my dearest friends and "sister," Lorna. We taught together when I lived in Illinois, and we became such close friends, we began calling each other "sister of the heart" or just "Sis" for short. (She's being sassy in this picture from Christmas and is blowing me a kiss.) We may live in two different states now, but we text every day and still call each other Sis. 

Lorna and me on her wedding day in 2015. That's her new husband, Michael, with us.

Dad practiced what he preached. I recently found evidence as to just how far he was willing to go to advocate for equity. As my sister Jenny sorted through his papers a few weeks ago, she came across a newspaper clipping of a column he had written for the newspaper. (Dad's weekly column was called Ten Pin Alley - my father was an avid bowler.) Not gonna lie, I was stunned when I read it, especially considering when he'd written this article - 1949. Seventy-two years ago. 

In it, he takes on The American Bowling Congress (ABC) who had a policy then that membership was limited to white men only. 

Dad wrote, "... To us, the pay-off in bowling is the score that a man compiles, not the color of his skin. We like to see every individual treated fairly and squarely, and we don't think the ABC is doing that. .... To have a better world in which to live, we must start at home and remove the restrictions. ... Let's be fair and open-minded, ABC... Let's make bowling all-inclusive and give our fellow man equal opportunity to enjoy this great sport."

You were absolutely right, Dad, and I am so proud of you for using your column to advocate for the fair treatment of Black men. I wish I'd known about this when you were alive and what the reaction was to your column after it went to press.

Most of all, I'd like to thank you for not only what you said, but even more, for your actions that reflected your deeply held convictions.

Wondering about women and their membership in the ABC? Read this excerpt from Wikipedia:

Historically, the membership of the ABC was all male (white males only in 1916–1950), but beginning in 1993 women were permitted to join. In 1916 the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was formed by a group of 40 women, and up until 2004 served as a partner organization of the ABC. The Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA) was established in 1982, after previously existing as the American Junior Bowling Congress founded in 1958, to serve youth bowlers from pre-school through collegiate level. Prior to the formation of the USBC, the national governing body for bowling was USA Bowling, which oversaw the participation of Team USA in international events. These four organizations merged to form USBC on January 1, 2005.

Christmas 2020: Christmas Day

Christmas Day, Curt and Cole's families did the Santa thing at Curt's house, while the rest of us slept in a bit. (Sarah and her family stayed with us.)

The plan was for their families to come over to our home and open gifts again when they finished over there.

Blue and Rhett tussle a little under the tree.

Pepper waits under the tree for the action to begin.

The stockings spilled over onto the table.

Ready to open gifts. (Note: they gathered at the top of the stairs by choice; I am fine if everyone comes down when they wish.)

Lisa, JC, Trinity, Sarah, and Todd with Millie, Rhett, and Blue.

All together at last and the chaos begins!

Craig, Pepper, and me.

Todd (standing), Curt, Cole, Emily, Lisa, Susie, Kate, Julie, Lukie, Mila, and Trinity's knees.

I love my candy cane posts so much!

We gave Kate that 10 foot pink python and did she ever love it!

Emily made Cole a quilt out of his old swimming tee shirts. He was so excited about it, and she did a wonderful job.

I got a blanket, too, from Craig. That's Cole holding it up for me.

Your girl got herself some cowgirl boots, too! Yeehah!

Sometimes it is just nice to sit back and watch the fun unfold.

Christmas dinner is so much easier when everyone helps make the food - this was the most relaxed I have been on Christmas Day since I was a little girl.

I got out my china and crystal to use for the adults

while the kids got to use the Rudolph plates and glasses.

Lisa makes her signature garlic mashed potatoes. No one does them better!

Clockwise from bottom left: sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried turkey, standing rib roast, Christmas Jello, homemade applesauce, green beans, asparagus, the gravy boat, and corn casserole. Sweet pickles and olives are in the center.

The rib roast was a big hit - it was absolutely delicious.

Dessert consisted of Christmas cookies, cherry and pumpkin pie, Aunt Jenny's fudge (sadly none of my siblings came due to the pandemic), chocolate chip pumpkin bread, spritz cookies from Aunt Leslie, and two special cakes.

A bundt cake that Curt gave Vanessa for Christmas

and a red velvet cake that Sarah had sent from Tennessee to Todd.

We zoomed in my sisters for the Dirty Santa game.

We actually got everyone together and to hold still for a family picture late in the afternoon.

And as Christmas Day waned,

so did we. It was an exhausting day, but a magical one as well.